Erik ten Hag called out for 'embarrassing' comment about Liverpool after Anfield draw

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has been branded 'embarrassing' for comments he made after his side held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw on Sunday.

United visited Anfield for the first time since suffering a 7-0 humiliation in March, and many fans thought that another heavy defeat was in store.

A poor United performance was somewhat predictable, but an underwhelming Liverpool showing was not what many people expected.

Though the home side created more opportunities and forced Andre Onana into eight saves, United stood firm and ground out a goalless draw.

United were undoubtedly the happiest to take a point; Ten Hag's side came into the contest having suffered back-to-back home defeats to Bournemouth and Bayern Munich.

After the match, United boss Ten Hag revealed what he said to his players in the dressing room.

"We mentioned [the 7-0] but I said to them last year we played them three times [against Liverpool], we lost one time but we beat them two times," he said. "We are capable of beating Liverpool and we proved today we are capable of if we bring this every game on the pitch.

"First of all, we are a hard team to beat but from that point, we can go and win games and also big games.

"I said that after the game in the dressing room: I'm very proud of this team. We should do this more often."

Erik ten Hag praised Manchester United after drawing 0-0 with Liverpool. Image: Getty

Ten Hag's point about beating Liverpool twice last season was technically true, but it raised some eyebrows as one of those victories was a pre-season friendly played in Bangkok.

Liverpool fans latched onto this, and it's fair to say they found Ten Hag's claim pretty amusing.

"He's actually embarrassing, never seen a team gas themselves up so much after a 0-0 draw when the other team was playing absolutely horrific," one fan wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

"Hahahah what a pathetic manager," said another.

While one supporter said: "Let him stay for another 20 years, they'll be useless."

Some clearly weren't impressed by Ten Hag's attitude following a dour goalless draw, with one fan saying: "Small club mentality that."

United stay 10 points behind high-flyers Liverpool, but are currently seventh in the Premier League table and six points off the top four.

Topics: Anfield, Erik Ten Hag, Liverpool, Manchester United, Premier League, Football, Fan Reactions

Alex Brotherton

Alex Brotherton is a Sports Trends Writer at SPORTbible. He has previously worked with publications including the Manchester Evening News, GOAL and BBC Sport. He is a football fanatic, but also dabbles in tennis and American football. He enjoys running, cooking and watching non-league football.

@alex_brotherton