‘It’s unforgivable!’ – Erik ten Hag blasts Man Utd players for breaking his first rules vs Dortmund

Erik ten Hag has criticized his Manchester United players’ performance in Sunday night’s 3-2 loss to Borussia Dortmund, claiming they “did not follow the rules at all.”

The Red Devils seized the lead in Las Vegas, but surrendered two quick goals, both from Donyell Malen, on the stroke of halftime; the first featured some haphazard defending, while the second saw Victor Lindelof pass right to a yellow shirt on the edge of his own box.

United equalized shortly after the restart through Antony, but the game concluded in a sluggish and error-filled manner, with another terrible pass – this time from Aaron Wan-Bissaka – allowing Youssoufa Moukoko to score a late winner.

United’s third straight defeat, despite the fact that they virtually fielded a young squad against Wrexham, and Ten Hag was highly upset with what he witnessed from his players, particularly in the second half.

When asked what he thought of the performance, the Dutch coach told MUTV: ‘There were two sections. The first hour was terrific, we played well as a team, and there was a lot of dynamism and strong pressing, so it was really enjoyable to watch, and that is what I wanted to tell the guys at half-time.

‘And then they threw away two goals – and they were really giveaways!’ That was already vexing.

‘But the last half-hour was terrible. That was a bad showing. I completely ignored the rules. Not in pressing, not in constructing, and not in attacking.

‘So there were finally 11 people on the pitch, which was not ideal.’

When asked if the tour was still valuable, he said, ‘I believe so. So, like I told the squad, I think it was a terrific tour, but you want to end with a nice performance.

‘And you saw only 60 minutes where I was satisfied – but not with the goals we conceded, which were truly appalling. The first was terrible at defending, and the second was terrible at building up. That is not our style.

‘We must maintain control and responsibility for the ball. The same could be said for Dortmund’s 3-2 victory. So that’s not going to happen. Even if it’s a friendly, it’s unforgivable.’

When asked by MUTV commentator Andy Cole if the long tour had taken its toll on his players, Ten Hag said, ‘But you play in top football for so long!’ There are no justifications!

‘No matter what, we have to perform. Then you have to be ruthless and win games because we are Manchester United and our fans expect us to win.’