Connect with us

European Leagues

Erik ten Hag hits back at Jamie Carragher’s analysis of Manchester United

Published

on

Erik ten Hag has hit back at Jamie Carragher’s “subjective” analysis of Manchester United on Monday Night Football.

United’s four-game winning run in the Premier League ended on Saturday with a 2-1 home defeat to Fulham, keeping them eight points adrift of the Champions League places.

Sky Sports’ Carragher highlighted why recent results have masked the problems with Ten Hag’s system, which has left them so susceptible defensively even when winning games.

But Ten Hag fired back at Carragher’s analysis ahead of their FA Cup fifth-round tie at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, saying: “Some analysts are objective in their comments, [offer] very good advices, some are very subjective – Jamie Carragher is one of them.

“For the first moment he is criticising and now he wants to make his point. In the first half an hour [vs Fulham] he had a point. Fulham surprised with their midfield setup and we had to find a solution. We did after half an hour.

“I wasn’t pleased with the defensive performance, especially down the left side and that has everything to do with willingness, spirit and passion. That was good in previous weeks, therefore we won football games.

“Footballers are not robots, sometimes they have bad days. It was unacceptable and we have to do better tomorrow.”

The FA Cup represents the last realistic chance of silverware for Manchester United this season and Ten Hag stressed the importance of the fixture at Forest.

“We were unbeaten in January and February and we lost one game. It was a poor performance and defeat, we are aware,” he said. “We want to stay in every competition. We have to win tomorrow. It doesn’t change our approach – that is for every game.

“I know the future. But I look at today, we work on the team development and try to win every game. We look forward to the longer term.”

Since Ten Hag joined the club in 2022, United have faced 20 or more shots in a Premier League game 12 times – already double that of Man City and Liverpool under Guardiola and Klopp, despite the pair having spent a combined 13 years longer with their clubs.

This season alone, Ten Hag has watched his side face 16 or more shots on 14 different occasions, a tally matched only by Luton and Sheffield United, who both sit in the relegation zone.

Carragher said: “Over the last few weeks, Manchester United have been in great form but still the underlying numbers have been really poor.

“They’ve been very fortunate, so we’re not talking about them now just because they lost to Fulham.

“It’s about performance. They defend like a team I’ve never seen before. They like to press high with a deep block.

“It’s impossible. They like to do two things at the same time. You can only do one or the other.

“We’re all pressing high or we’re all defending deep. They’re trying to do both.”

Carragher said: “I’ve chosen clips against Fulham, but I could have chosen clips from where they’ve won games like against Aston Villa. It’s still the same problem.

“I want to highlight a problem from the very kick-off. If I highlight Kobbie Mainoo, this is not a criticism of him, it’s more of what are his instructions before the game?

“He’s not sure if he should be looking after the holding midfielder or watching the No 10. He’s caught in between.

“It’s straight from the kick-off. You should know your job from kick-off. That’s down to the coaching staff.

“You can see the big problem then had just 20 seconds into the game against Fulham. It’s been the problem for Manchester United all season.

“They’ve shown they’re a poor side at handling counter-attacks. They’ve got no pace at the back and they’ve got a lack of legs in midfield.”

Carragher added: “Another big problem for them is when they’ve got the ball. Some people say there’s no patterns of play with Manchester United.

“What’s their philosophy? I tell you one of the reasons why there’s no patterns of play and another reason why they get done on the counter-attack… Look at the positions the players find themselves in when Raphael Varane is on the ball.

“You look where the right-back is [Diogo Dalot] and he can’t receive a pass. Mainoo is on the last line. His position can’t be right. Bruno Fernandes, your No 10 is playing like a striker, and on the other side, Victor Lindelof can’t receive the ball.

“It leads to a turnover and how many times have you seen Manchester United players having to run 40 yards back to their own goal this season?”

“Look at the ones who are sprinting. The ones who took up wrong positions. Dalot, Mainoo, Bruno Fernandes and Lindelof. They’re sprinting 30, 40, 50 yards five or six times in a game – hence why they get so many injuries in a game.

“With Fulham’s winning goal, we see that Marcus Rashford won’t run while Harry Maguire and Christian Eriksen can’t run. That’s a massive problem for them.”

 

Author

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

European Leagues

Juventus fire Allegri after cup final antics

Published

on

Juventus have sacked Massimiliano Allegri two days after he led the side to the Italian Cup. The Turin side beat Atalanta 1-0 in Rome,

Juventus have sacked Massimiliano Allegri two days after he led the side to the Italian Cup.

The Turin side beat Atalanta 1-0 in Rome, but Allegri was sent off late on for ranting at match officials and waving away sporting director during the celebrations.

The Italian Football Federation’s disciplinary tribunal has launched an investigation into Allegri.

And yesterday ,Juventus confirmed he was no longer their boss.

“The dismissal follows certain behaviors during and after the Italian Cup final which the club deemed incompatible with the values of

Juventus and with the behavior that those who represent it must adopt,” a statement read.

Juve’s 1-0 win over Atalanta, thanks to Dusan Vlahovic’s early goal, gave Allegri a record fifth Coppa Italia as a manager.

“If I am no longer the Juventus coach next year, I will leave a strong team. The club will make its evaluations,” he said in the post-match news conference.

Even before his antics at the Stadio Olimpico, the 56-year-old had been expected to lose his job and be replaced by Bologna coach Thiago Motta.

But now he will not be there for the final two Serie A games against Bologna and Monza.

“The company wishes Massimiliano Allegri good luck in his future projects,” ended the statement..

Allegri was in charge of Juventus from 2014 until 2019, winning the title in each of his five seasons, as well as four Italian Cups and reaching the Champions League final twice.

He left by mutual consent at the end of the 2018-19 season – and did not work again for two years, until he was re-appointed as Juventus manager at the start of 2021-22.

However his second spell failed to live up to the first and Wednesday’s Italian Cup was their only silverware in that time.

They finished fourth and seventh in his two full seasons – and currently sit fourth.

Author

Continue Reading

European Leagues

Juventus nearly sacked Allegri after Italian Cup row

Published

on

Massimiliano Allegri was close to being sacked by Juventus after exploding with anger during his team’s midweek Italian Cup triumph

Massimiliano Allegri was close to being sacked by Juventus after exploding with anger during his team’s midweek Italian Cup triumph, according to widespread reports in local media.

Juventus won their 15th Italian Cup on Wednesday night but Allegri burst into a rage, first being sent off in the final minutes after ranting at match officials and then waving away sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli during the post-match celebrations.

And Juve are now set to fire Allegri, who was already widely rumoured to be replaced by Bologna coach Thiago Motta in the summer, with two matches of the season remaining.

Juventus sit fourth in Serie A after collecting just 15 points in their last 15 league matches. They are at Bologna on Monday night. The two are teams level on 67 points and both have already qualified for next season’s revamped Champions League.

Italian media reported that Juve are evaluating whether to dismiss Allegri with just cause for his behaviour on Wednesday night, when he is also alleged to have manhandled and threatened the chief editor of newspaper Tuttosport before the post-match press conference.

Such a move would potentially save the club from paying Allegri the remaining year of his contract, which is worth around seven million euros before bonuses.

The Italian Football Federation’s disciplinary tribunal has launched an investigation into Allegri, who on Wednesday almost accidentally confirmed that this season would be his last at the Turin giants.

Allegri was on Thursday given an automatic two-match ban in the cup for his straight red card but could receive further punishment.

 

Author

Continue Reading

European Leagues

Man City move close to history – thanks to unlikely hero Romero

Published

on

Manchester City saw an unlikely hero emerge from their galaxy of superstars to make a potentially defining contribution in their pursuit of

Manchester City saw an unlikely hero emerge from their galaxy of superstars to make a potentially defining contribution in their pursuit of an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title.

Pep Guardiola rightly acted with caution when he removed keeper Ederson, with City leading 1-0, after he suffered a nasty blow to the head in a heavy collision at the foot of his post with Tottenham defender Cristian Romero.

Ederson, who had a problem with his eye, did not look happy with the decision – taken upon advice from the club doctor – but his manager was perfectly justified, not just acting in the best interests of the Brazilian keeper but also because he has complete trust in his replacement Stefan Ortega.

And in a 21-minute cameo of the highest quality, Ortega – who has performed with distinction every time he has deputised for Ederson this season – may well have rubber-stamped City’s sixth title in seven seasons.

When the final whistle sounded and the club stood one win away from being champions again, Guardiola headed straight for Ortega and greeted the German with a kiss on the cheek for his crucial contribution. It was richly deserved.

Guardiola did not hold back with the praise as he said: “Ortega is a world-class goalkeeper. An exceptional, exceptional goalkeeper. Ederson did not have concussion, he had a problem with his eye. He could not see properly so the doctor said I should change.”

Spurs made a complete mockery of the cynics who suggested they may ease off because any sort of positive result could potentially give rivals Arsenal their first Premier League title in 20 years.

Ange Postecoglou’s fifth-placed side were fully committed in chasing a goal of their own as they went after a place in the Champions League and it was not for any lack of effort as they came so close to upsetting City’s traditional title charge. They were left disappointed in the end as defeat confirmed Aston Villa’s fourth-placed finish and they will now join European football’s top table.

Ortega’s impact was instant, denying Spurs substitute Dejan Kulusevski with a good save and then the same player shortly afterwards as City almost paid the price for a performance that was not one of their best.

The biggest moment came in the closing minutes, with City clinging on to a one-goal lead, when Son Heung-min collected the ball and raced clear with only Ortega to beat. It was the sort of opportunity the South Korean has taken with aplomb so many times in his Spurs career.

BBC

 

Author

Continue Reading

Trending