Erik ten Hag has labelled Manchester United’s performance in their friendly defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Sunday night as “unforgivable”.
The Red Devils were beaten by BVB in Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday night, succumbing to a brace from Donyell Malen and a 71st minute winner from Youssoufa Moukoko in the 3-2 loss.
Dortmund’s second and third goals were direct results from sloppy mistakes from United. Victor Lindelof and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were both guilty of key errors, whole young winger Omari Forson was substituted before half time amid concerns he would get himself sent off.
Speaking after the game to MUTV, manager Ten Hag was quick to stress his disappointment in his side’s performance in the final 30 minutes of the game, lamenting his side’s sloppiness in and out of possession.
“Two parts. The first hour was good, performed well, playing as a team, a lot of dynamism, good pressing, so it was really enjoyable to see and that is what I wanted to say to the team at half-time,” Ten Hag began. “And then all of sudden they gave away two goals – and they were really giveaways. So that was already annoying.
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“But the last half an hour, that was bad. That was a poor performance. Didn’t follow the rules at all. Not in pressing, not in building up and not in attacking.
“You see only 60 minutes where I was pleased with it – but not with the goals we conceded, because that was really poor. First one really poor defending and the second one really poor in building up. That is not us.
“We have to keep the control and keep the responsibility on the ball. And it was the same for the 3-2 goal for Dortmund. So that can’t happen. It’s unforgivable, even if it’s a friendly.”
Man Utd will now travel back to England to complete their pre-season with a game against Lens on August 5 at Old Trafford, before travelling to Dublin in Ireland to face Athletic Club at the Aviva Stadium.
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