Erik ten Hag\u2019s was candid in his post-match takeout of Manchester United\u2019s 3-2 defeat at the hands of Borussia Dortmund in the United States and openly admitted there were no excuses, although he did harbor mixed feelings.<\/p>\n
The Reds were defeated by the Bundesliga team at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas despite Diogo Dalot and Antony having been on target.<\/p>\n
The United boss was clearly unhappy with the attitude of some of his players because ‘they didn’t follow his rules’ in the second half against the German outfit. He insisted his team does not indulge in friendly games and he had targeted a positive result against Dortmund after their defeat against Real Madrid, but the Bundesliga runners-up claimed a 3-2 victory at the Allegiant Stadium.<\/p>\n
Although United took the lead through an excellent Diogo Dalot strike in the 24th minute, Dortmund scored two goals in quick succession just before half-time and that suddenly changed the direction of the game in their favor.<\/p>\n
The United manager gave an honest assessment when he spoke to MUTV\u2019s Zarah Connolly, Danny Webber and Andy Cole on the pitch after the game, conceding that United fared poorly at the end of the match.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo parts – first hour [was] good, well performing, playing as a team, lot of dynamic, good pressing, so it was really enjoyable to see. That is what I wanted to say to the team at half-time and then all of a sudden they gave two goals away and they really were giveaways. So that was already annoying but the last half an hour was bad, was a poor performance. Didn\u2019t follow the rules at all, not in pressing, not in building up and not in attacking, so there were 11 individuals finally on the pitch and that wasn\u2019t good at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the results, the United boss believed the pre-season tour had been useful for his team, saying:<\/p>\n
\u201cI think so [the tour has been useful for the team]. The same I said to the team, I think it was a good tour but you want to finish with a good performance and you see only 60 minutes where I was pleased with but not with the goals we conceded because they were really poor. The first one was really poor defending and the second one really poor in building up and that is not us. We have to keep the control and you have to keep the responsibility on the ball and it was the same on the 3-2 for Dortmund, so [it] can\u2019t happen and it\u2019s unforgivable even if it\u2019s a friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ten Hag was insistent that there are no excuses for the poor results:<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no excuses, we have to perform no matter what and then you have to be ruthless and win games because we are Man United and the fans are expecting from us wins.\u201d<\/p>\n
In wrapping up his comments on the pre-season, the Dutchman admitted the team has to get back to standards as a first priority:<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst we have to return of course, then we have one day off. But you see also after the last half an hour, we have to get back to standards with the team and get back into the patterns for what is needed to get a good league start. We have two games at the weekend and then we have still more than a week to prepare for the first game of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
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