Erik ten Hag has reacted to Manchester United’s 4-3 capitulation against Copenhagen this evening, which has left them rock bottom of Group A.
Three defeats and one win in the Champions League group stage have the Red Devils clinging onto nothing but pure hope in terms of qualification to the knock-outs. They just haven’t been able to see out the necessary results, whether it be down to poor performances or VAR/refereeing inconsistencies.
Tonight, after taking a two-goal lead courtesy of Rasmus Hojlund, Copenhagen halved the deficit in the quick turnaround from Marcus Rashford’s dismissal. It was Mohamed Elyounoussi that found the back of the net but upon further inspection, viewers noticed that Andre Onana’s line of sight was obstructed by an offside player. This was not reviewed and therefore, the goal stood when it perhaps shouldn’t have.
Ten Hag reacts
Ten Hag also addressed the incident, saying (via Miguel Delaney): “The first [goal], the guy is right in front of Andre.”
He added: “The red card changes everything and we concede two goals before half-time that should never have come. The first is offside, the second is a penalty… very debatable. The red card is also harsh. The ref has so long to make it a red card. When you freeze it, it makes it look so much worse. The game is never meant to be like this, this has nothing to do with football. Decisions have to be made and I accept. Wrong decisions are made… three tough decisions.”
Still, after a truly deflating and tumultuous night in the Danish capital, Ten Hag has chosen to see some silver linings.
“I take a lot of positives,” the Dutchman said. “Even with 10 men, we are dictating the game. It will turn. It will turn. There will be one moment in our season…”
All quotes courtesy of @MiguelDelaney on X.
As a Man Utd ran for over 50+years I don’t agree with ETH about the VAR decisions. Rashford deserved a red card and the penalty decision was right. He is making excuses for a team that can’t defend at all and defending himself. What a mess after controlling the game at 2-0 and playing so well. After Rashford went we folded like a deck of cards with 2 quick goals.And the rest is history.⚽️👎