Erik ten Hag has dismissed suggestions from Jurgen Klopp that his Manchester United side deployed a man-marking system against Liverpool in their pre-season friendly.
United were 4-0 winners in the Bangkok Century Cup in Thailand on Tuesday. This was the Red Devils first match of their pre-season tour of Asia and Australia.
When speaking to the press after the game, the United boss was asked about the Liverpool managers’ claim that the Reds struggled against this man-marking tactic.
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ten Hag disagreed with Klopp’s claim, explaining that he hadn’t set his side out to play in this system.
“I wouldn’t say that we play man marking- at a certain moment we play man marking” said the Dutch head coach to manutd.com.
“We want to press, we want to press all day and play proactive football."
"Sometimes we can do that high but if not possible, we have to read it as a team and drop lower."
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"But we want to press and that has to be the intention all day."
“From every area of the team, I want productivity. That’s the most important thing, that players take the initiative on and off the ball, in offence and defence.”
Klopp was not meaning to slate ten Hag and his system. In fact, the German was full of praise in his own post-match interview with regards to the way United were set-up.
Speaking to Blood Red: Liverpool FC on Youtube, Klopp said: “I saw a lot of good performances in moments, but no consistency, sometimes we were in a rush.
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“The way United defended in a man-marking system, especially in midfield, we gave the ball away and they finished the moments off, that was obvious.
“The way United is playing with this man-marking idea, you need more flexibility. When Harvey (Elliott) came in the middle we were more dangerous.”
ten Hag’s side have now travelled to Australia, where they’ll play Melbourne Victory tomorrow, while next up for Liverpool is Crystal Palace in Singapore.
Topics: Liverpool, Manchester United, Erik Ten Hag
Alfie Culshaw