Erik ten Hag was criticized by YouTuber Mark Goldbridge for his “horrific error” after he substituted Scott McTominay for Fred during Manchester United’s loss this past weekend.
What has changed since the defeat of Man United and Erik ten Hag?
Nothing could have prepared the Red Devils’ supporters for the shocking 7-0 thrashing they were going to receive against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League.
By the 50th minute, the Reds had a three-goal advantage thanks to a brace from Cody Gakpo and one goal each from Darwin Nunez. Before the hour mark, Ten Hag made a substitution.
With Fred now off and McTominay in, Man United managed to concede four more goals in the remaining 32 minutes, and Goldbridge has explained why this was such a foolish move to make.
He explained (8:25) during his appearance on The Unified Stand: “It’s as inexcusable as it is shocking because of what actually occurred. But to be really honest with you, I believe that Ten Hag made a terrible mistake at 3-0. It was a terrible mistake that lost us four goals.
It was like tossing a rabbit into a pack of lions when Scott McTominay was introduced and they were involved in a match like that. We fully capitulated in the middle, so it was a tear-up.
“Fred might not have been playing well, but as we’ve always said about him, he can have a horrible hour and then have a world-class final half-hour.
“Removing Fred from McTominay… As unhappy we were with Fred, bringing Fred off and replacing him with McTominay made that midfield absolutely vanish, regardless of Ten Hag’s clear displeasure with Fred.
It is understandable why Ten Hag felt the need to make changes in order to attempt and redirect the game’s flow given that it was virtually lost at 3-0.
Nevertheless, as it turned out, things only got worse. McTominay eventually received a yellow card, touched the ball just six times, forced two out of three passes, lost the ball once, won one of two ground rules, and committed a foul. He also had a final SofaScore rating of 6.2 for the game.
It demonstrates how forgettable the midfielder’s 32-minute cameo was. Although while you can’t really blame him for the outcome, Ten Hag, who had been receiving high acclaim before recently, will likely regret the choice to bring him on and the entire United performance.
All in all, everyone associated with MUFC will never forget that day.
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