Erik ten Hag believes that Manchester United’s narrow margins led to their 3-1 loss to Manchester City in the derby.
Despite Marcus Rashford scoring in the first half and giving hope to the visitors at the Etihad Stadium, Phil Foden’s two goals and Erling Haaland‘s late strike crushed their dreams of victory.
The defeat has already brought United’s Premier League losses this season to 11, which is two more than they had in the entire 2022–23 season.
However, the manager identified many positive aspects of their performance.
“They gave everything,” Ten Hag said of his side to Sky Sports. “We had two players on the pitch that were not 100%, Jonny Evans and Marcus Rashford, and they gave everything, as the whole team gave everything.
“I think the performance is very good, only, of course, we are disappointed with the score.
“The togetherness but also the performance was very good. On another day, we could have won this game.
“Especially I think Rashford had some very good opportunities also to score another goal. Also [Alejandro] Garnacho had these moments. The plan went well. It was very small margins.
“All the credit to City, in how they play, and how consistent they play, but the way we defended was brilliant.”
There was controversy surrounding Foden’s equalizer for the home team, which resulted from a quick counter-attack.
Rashford seemed to be on a breakaway at the opposite end, but was pushed off the ball by Kyle Walker.
Despite no foul being called, City capitalized on the opportunity and scored, causing a heated reaction from Ten Hag, who was then shown a yellow card.
“It was soft, but you know when you are in a full sprint, and you get a little touch, then you lose the rhythm. That’s why he went down,” he said, before referencing another incident when City goalkeeper Ederson flew out of goal to tackle Garnacho inside the penalty area.
“It’s very debatable. I think there was contact and a defining moment in the game, as was also the 2-1, where the reckless action of the goalkeeper from City. They counter attacked, they scored, 2-1.”
United lost a top-flight game for the first time after leading at half-time since September 2014.
This result keeps them in sixth place in the Premier League table, 18 points behind their city rivals in second place.
The club’s fans are concerned as they have fallen behind in the race for a UEFA Champions League spot after Aston Villa and Spurs won this weekend. They are now 11 points away from the top four, but Ten Hag believes they can make up that difference.
“From this year on, I think we’re really progressing,” he added. “You have to get some points back and then you have to win a game like today against City.
“There are still many games to play. Everyone can beat everyone, so things can quickly turn around. We have to win our games.
“Number five can also be a position for the Champions League, so we have to fight for it.”
Next weekend, they will be back in action at Old Trafford against Everton, who are currently struggling. Ten Hag’s team is in danger of losing three consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since December 2015.
Despite this, Bruno Fernandes believes there are some positives they can draw from the game.
“I think the commitment from the team was there,” the captain told Sky Sports. “Obviously, they have their qualities and they hurt us when they could.
“We had our chances. Sometimes, I think we played a little bit too deep, but you know that City does that to all the teams.
“You have to know how to defend your box. I think we did that really well in the first half. We had our counters in the second half also.
“From a chance that it could be ours, they end up scoring the 1-1, and then with the qualities of their players, they got the other goals.”
