Featured Image Credit: Hayters TV
Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Premier League, Aston Villa
Alex Brotherton
Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal, Premier League, Aston Villa
Football fans have mocked Erik ten Hag after the Manchester United manager made a bold claim following his side's win against Aston Villa.
Man United extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to six games on Sunday afternoon by beating Aston Villa 2-1.
A late Scott McTominay header secured the three points for the visitors, although Ten Hag's side were perhaps fortunate to still be in the game.
Unai Emery's side wasted several clear chances throughout the game, while under-fire goalkeeper Andre Onana made several impressive saves.
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After the match Ten Hag was bold in his assessment of United's performance, and insisted that his team can beat any opponent on their day.
"I think we can beat any opponent, away or at home, but sometimes away we need to believe [in ourselves] more," the Dutch coach said.
"We could have won at Arsenal, we deserved to win. We could have won at Liverpool.
"It's about belief, and I think this team today believed they could win. That's why I think, in the end, we won the game."
Ten Hag was referring to United's 3-1 loss to Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in September and the goalless draw with Liverpool at Anfield in December.
On X (formerly Twitter), fans took issue with his claim his side could - and even should - have won both of those games.
"What's this guy smoking?," one fan asked, while another argued: "you didn't deserve to win today, you didn't deserve to win against Arsenal, and you definitely deserved to lose against Liverpool 7-0," referring to Liverpool's crushing win last season.
"Manchester United won’t go far with this manager if he actually believes this," predicted another sceptic, while one supporters went as far as to say: "I hate him more and more every day."
One Manchester City found Ten Hag's claim hilarious, saying: "Funny guy."
The stats from those two games do seem to contradict Ten Hag's claim.
United lost to Arsenal after Mikel Arteta's side took more shots at goal (17 vs 10) and registered an xG rating of 2.27, compared to United's 0.94.
At Anfield a few months later, Liverpool peppered Onana's goal with 34 shots and forced the goalkeeper into making eight saves, but United hung on despite registered just one attempt on goal and enjoying just 32 per cent possession.
Stats rarely tell the full story, but Ten Hag is standing on shaky ground if he thinks his side deserved to beat Arsenal and Liverpool.