"Unfair and unjust the way we conceded the penalty" - Ten Hag reacts after Manchester United's loss to West Ham
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag reflected on the penalty his side conceded in the 2-1 Premier League defeat at West Ham United on Sunday (October 27). The loss comes three days after the Red Devils were held to a 1-1 draw at Fenerbahce in the UEFA Europa League.
Coming back to the Premier League game at the London Stadium, all three goals came in the second period after a goalless first half, where the visitors had dominated proceedings without scoring.
Their profligacy would come back to haunt them, as Crysencio Summerville broke the deadlock with 16 mintues remaining. Casemiro thought he had forced a share of the spoils when he scored seven minutes later.
However, in stoppage time, a Matthijs de Ligt challenge on Danny Ings inside the United box was reviewed by VAR, and a penalty was awarded to the Hammers, which Jarrod Bowen duly converted. United protested a hand-ball by Ings in the build-up, which was seemingly missed by the ref and VAR, incensing the visitors.
Ten Hag shared his thoughts on the incident (as per the BBC via The United Stand) as he also rued his side's wastefulness in the attacking third:
"Three times this season we feel injustice. We have to score. We created so many chances. We should've been two or three up. Second half, we were forcing it, but we allowed them into the game.
"When you are losing 1-0 you need big personality and character of the team and showed resilience to get back into it, unfair and unjust the way we conceded the penalty."
The loss drops the Red Devils to 14th in the standings as they remain without consecutive league wins this season, having beaten Brentford 2-1 at home in their previous outing last weekend.
What's next for Manchester United?
Having failed to win their last two games across competitions, Manchester United next take on Leicester City at home on Wednesday (October 30) in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.
Four days later, they host Chelsea in the league, with the Blues coming off a 2-1 home win over Newcastle United to move to fourth in the standings, with 17 points from nine games. United, meanwhile, are 10 places and six points behind.
The Red Devils have hardly fared better in Europe, drawing their opening three UEFA Europa League games. Following a 1-1 home draw with Ten Hag's former side FC Twente, United drew 3-3 at Porto before the aforementioned stalemate at Fenerbahce.