Manchester United failed to respond to a first-half setback when David de Gea spilled the ball into his own net to give West Ham the lead. Erik ten Hag decided to defend his goalkeeper when speaking to Des Kelly after the match.
This meant Ten Hag did not get the ‘bounce back’ he spoke about after United suffered another defeat on the road against Brighton midweek.
Speaking to BT Sport after the match, Ten Hag demanded more energy from his players, saying: “First half, I think we played quite well and we created a lot of opportunities, but on the first occasion they scored a goal. Of course, disappointment with the result, same as Thursday [against Brighton]. We lost for ourselves and now we have one week, the first time since Christmas, we need energy because both second halves were below standards.”
When asked about De Gea’s howler in the first half, the manager stressed that mistakes are part of football and everybody in the team has to take responsibility.
Ten Hag added: “Mistakes are part of football and in this team you have to deal with it and bounce back because it is a team sport. Over the season he is the one with the most clean sheets and also we did it as a team. It can happen, it’s football but everybody has to take responsibility.”
"Over the course of the season, he's the one with the most clean sheets!" 🧤
Erik ten Hag talks David de Gea blunder following Man Utd's 1-0 loss to West Ham!
🎙️ @TheDesKelly pic.twitter.com/6tIpeRxqJS
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) May 7, 2023
Footage courtesy of BT Sport
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