Atletico Madrid defeated Manchester United 1-0 in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.
The La Liga side is renowned for being masters of the dark arts and that was clear in Oslo, even though the game was a friendly. It ended 1-0 thanks to Joao Felix’s late strike before Fred was sent off.
Atleti players made several meaty challenges during the game and Erik ten Hag wasn’t impressed by the level of aggressiveness Diego Simeone’s side played with during the match.
Ten Hag suggested Atleti lack respect.
“I like competitiveness, but with respect,” Ten Hag told reporters, as quoted by The Mirror.
“I don’t want to have injuries as well. That’s why you have to keep respect for each other.
“I have seen some tackles which are maybe a little bit over the limit.”
On another note, Ten Hag wasn’t happy with how the team performed against Atleti, adding: “In the end it’s about the result, and the score was not good. You have to take benefits if you create chances. I think we created many chances, to produce at least one goal – that point, I am not satisfied. I have told the team it is not acceptable.”
United fans will hope for better times under Ten Hag – especially after last season when the team finished sixth and failed to win a trophy for a fifth consecutive year.
Ten Hag has a lot of work to do to deliver a trophy in his first season.
United are back in action on Sunday against Rayo Vallecano.
ETH managerial attitude is what Man Utd have needed for a long,long time. I like his blunt overview being ‘we played well, but its the result that counts! His view of the attacking players not putting the chances away, was spot on.
Are you related to Michael Owen?
Lol!