Erik ten Hag does not know why Manchester United players' standards have dropped
22.09.2023 - 21:53
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag admits does not know why the squad's standards have regressed this season and admitted some players did not run "in the right moments" in the defeat to Bayern Munich
United have lost four of their last five matches and conceded 16 goals in their six fixtures this term, having finished third in the Premier League table last term, winning the League Cup and reaching the FA Cup final.
Ten Hag accused some United players of not running in the defeat to Tottenham five weeks ago, which evoked memories of United's lethargy in their 4-0 humbling by Brentford 13 months ago.
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In the 4-3 Champions League group stage reverse to Bayern in midweek, Scott McTominay was singled out for criticism by some supporters for ambling back towards his own half after he was dispossessed by centre half Dayot Upamecano.
Ten Hag also queried the failure to halt Leroy Sane from running onto Harry Kane's lay-off for the first goal. Replays showed Marcus Rashford did not track Sane.
"It’s always a concern when we didn’t run but I think against Bayern it was not the case," Ten Hag explained, "but in certain situations, yes. So it’s also recognise the original situation and then is it about didn’t they recognise it? So they didn't they scan it? Didn't they make the right decisions or is it about willingness?
"Against Spurs, yeah, we didn’t run too much. We had a game last [season] where we did the same, where we didn’t run. But I think against Bayern we did our best from physical outputs but I think we didn’t always run in the right