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Erik ten Hag hits out at Man Utd players in post-match interview for 'not following the rules'

Erik ten Hag hits out at Man Utd players in post-match interview for 'not following the rules'

Man Utd suffered a 3-2 defeat to Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund on Sunday in the club's four-game of their pre-season tour.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was far from pleased with the standards set by some of his players during the second-half of their pre-season clash against Borussia Dortmund.

Despite taking the lead through a wonderful effort from Diogo Dalot, United suffered at the hands of Bundesliga side Dortmund in their fourth and final game of this summer's pre-season tour of America.

Edin Terzić's side sealed a 3-2 victory at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas thanks to goals from Donyell Malen [2] and Youssoufa Moukoko.

For United, however, there was a handful of negatives to take from the game.

In fact, after the full-time whistle on Monday, manager Erik ten Hag took no prisoners when discussing their second-half performance, saying it was "unforgivable" to not follow his rules.

Speaking to MUTV, he said: "So it was really enjoyable to see and that's what I wanted to say at half-time, but all of a sudden, they give two goals away.

"They were giveaways and that was annoying. But the last half an hour, it was bad, a poor performance. They didn't follow the rules at all, not in pressing, not in building up or when attacking. They were 11 individuals on the pitch.

"That wasn't good at all. I said to the team, I think it was a good tour, but you want to finish with a good performance and there was only 60 minutes that I was pleased with, but not with the goals we conceded because the first one was poor defending and the second one was poor in build-up.

"That's not us, we have to keep control, keep responsibility on the ball and it was the same for the 3-2. That can't happen and it's unforgivable, even if it's a friendly."

A quickfire double from Malen just before half-time gave Dortmund a 2-1 lead going into the second period but Brazilian winger Antony equalised shortly after the restart.

But after some slack defending from Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who gave away possession in the final third, the German side capitalised with a well-worked goal finished off by highly-rated forward Youssoufa Moukoko.

In the game, Ten Hag also decided to take off youngster Omari Forson after just 38 minutes, before giving him a lengthy dressing down on the touchline.

Forson, who took exception to a challenge from Julian Ryerson, must use his disappointment as a “learning curve” in the coming games, according to United's manager.

“When there is a VAR, he gets sent off,” Ten Hag explained post-match.

“He played a good game and the opponent gets annoyed with him so that is a learning [curve] but don’t take it into your own hands.

“You can’t be the judge, you have to play football, you have to beat your opponent, you have to net and that is the best way to react.”

Thoughts on Manchester United's performance against Borussia Dortmund on Monday?

Let us know in the comments.

Featured Image Credit: MUTV/Getty

Topics: Erik Ten Hag, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund

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