What Erik ten Hag told Manchester United players after Cadiz defeat

Erik ten Hag was dissatisfied with Manchester United’s start in their 4-2 loss to Cadiz in Spain on Thursday night.

Erik ten Hag chastised Manchester United players for lowering their standards following their 4-2 friendly loss to Cadiz.

United fell behind 2-0 after just 13 minutes at the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla, and despite equalizing with Anthony Martial’s penalty and Kobbie Mainoo’s deflected strike on either side of half-time, Cadiz easily prevailed.

Ten Hag was dissatisfied with the first-half performance and replaced the whole outfield lineup for the second half, bringing in 10 academy youngsters.

Ten Hag was particularly irritated by United’s clumsy start with senior players, with full-backs Brandon Williams and Aaron Wan-Bissaka culpable in their debuts under the Dutchman.

“It must always be the standard, and to be fair, the first 15 minutes cannot happen.” That is not our standard, and it should not occur, so that is what we discussed,” Ten Hag told MUTV. “We’ll do it again tomorrow, but we have to strike it, draw a line, and go on; it can’t happen again.”

Ten Hag was more sensitive to the rookies’ performance. Main, Marc Jurado, Tyler Fredricson, Sam Murray, and Noam Emeran all made their senior debuts as United fielded a team with an average age of 18-and-a-half.

Only Dishon Bernard, Charlie Savage, Shola Shoretire, and Charlie McNeill had made their first-team debuts among those introduced.

Ten Hag said, “They provided energy.” “They run, they fight, sometimes not in the right order, they make mistakes, they’re not used to playing at this level.”

“It was a valuable lesson, and when you make tiny mistakes, the consequences are severe, and we eventually lose the game.”