'It’s quite simple, it’s a lack of belief' - Erik ten Hag slams players after dismal performance against Manchester City

Eric ten Hag (Image Source: Twitter)

Manchester United and Manchester City manoeuvred in the Derby clash at Etihad stadium, the home ground of the Cityzens on October 2, Sunday. The match, however, did not go in favour of the Red Devils as they lost it with a scoreline of 6-3 against an incinerated Manchester City lineup. 

Erling Haaland and Phil Foden each scored hat-tricks and helped the team clinch a dominant win for the Cityzens. Erik ten Hag, the Manchester United manager, was disappointed with the loss and vituperated the players for their execrable effort. 

“It’s quite simple, it’s a lack of belief. When you don’t believe on the pitch then you can’t win games, that is unacceptable. We got undisciplined at following rules and you get hammered, that is what happened today. For me it was a surprise. We were not on the front foot, we were not brave on the ball and there were spaces to play but we were not brave enough,” the het-up Red Devils’ boss said after the match. 

Our performance was not good: Erik ten Hag

Although disappointed by the loss, ten Hag lauded Manchester City for their nonpareil performance. He also found that his team’s sepulchral show to be the reason behind the loss. “All the credit to City, but it’s nothing to do with City. Our performance was not good. It had to do with the belief as individuals and as team. In this moment I can’t think about positives," expressed the Dutch manager.

"We let our fans down, we let ourselves down. At half-time we changed things and we changed attitude. We saw a different Manchester United after half-time and we scored goals, we created some more. On the ball we were more brave, we came in the opponent’s half and we scored three goals,” added ten Hag. 

Albeit the Red Devils scored three goals in the second half, the team’s failure in the first half came to haunt them. As it stands, the Red Devils will look to bounce back in the later half of the tournament when Manchester City steps onto the Old Trafford arena.