Manchester United

Premier League: Erik ten Hag takes blame for Manchester United’s thrashing vs Crystal Palace

Danijones8 months ago03 mins

Manchester United’s woes this season were laid bare again in their 4-0 Premier League hammering by Crystal Palace on Monday, but manager Erik Ten Hag believes he is the right man to fix a team that is limping to the end of the campaign. United had several injury issues ahead of the game and were forced to play midfielder Casemiro at centre-back, where he was exposed on a number of occasions as Palace’s mobile front three pulled their visitors apart. It leaves United in eighth with three league games remaining and facing several unwanted records. They currently have a club record number of losses (13) in a Premier League season and have already faced their most shots (618) in a single campaign. If they let in three more goals this term they will set a new mark for their most conceded in a campaign. “I will keep fighting, I have prepared the team in the best way I can,” Ten Hag told SkySports. “It (the performance) was not good enough and I have to take the responsibility for that. “But I will find the energy and prepare them for the next game. We have nine points to play for and we have to fight for those.” The manager refused to lay the blame on Casemiro alone for the poor defensive display. “You can’t put it on one player, it is a team performance. We did not adapt to the different situations,” Ten Hag said. “It’s clear, we didn’t act how we want to, it’s not good enough. “There are always reasons, everyone could see our backline today, where we had huge problems. But at the end of the day we have to deal with these issues and we should have done better.” Manchester United’s next game is at home to league leaders Arsenal on Sunday. Published By: Kingshuk Kusari Published On: May 7, 2024

Disputed penalty gives Manchester United draw at Bournemouth as CL qualification slips further away

Danijones8 months ago03 mins

Manchester United needed two penalty decisions to salvage a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth in the English Premier League on Saturday, although the point did little to boost its chances of Champions League soccer next season. United was largely outplayed and trailed 2-1 when a shot by Kobbie Mainoo from outside the area was deflected onto the arm of Adam Smith. Referee Tony Harrington pointed to the spot even though the ball was traveling away from the goal and the Bournemouth player had little time to react. Bruno Fernandes converted the 65th-minute penalty for his second goal of the game to secure a point for United, but it was another unconvincing performance from Erik ten Hag’s side that is unlikely to quell speculation about the manager’s future. Harrington initially awarded Bournemouth an injury-time penalty when Ryan Christie collided with United defender Willy Kambwala as he was running into the box, but a VAR review ruled the foul happened just outside the area. United still has a slim chance of securing Champions League qualification but couldn’t take full advantage of fifth-placed Tottenham’s loss at Newcastle earlier. United is 10 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa and Tottenham with six rounds to go. The Champions League’s new format next season means five teams from the Premier League could qualify for the competition. Dominic Solanke gave Bournemouth the lead after shrugging off Kambwala to break into the area and then slotting a low shot past André Onana. Fernandes equalized by volleying in his second effort from close range but it took only Bournemouth five more minutes to restore its lead as Justin Kluivert was allowed to waltz into the United area unchallenged and beat Onana at his near post. Milos Kerkez had a great chance to make it 3-1 before halftime but headed against the crossbar, and United was then on the right side of the two penalty decisions in the second half. Bournemouth were in 12th place, safe from relegation but seemingly with little chance of earning European qualification. Published By: Saurabh Kumar Published On: Apr 14, 2024