The Man City defeat doesn't undo the good work done by Ten Hag, but it highlighted a huge weakness that remains. Fortunately, they don’t need to wait for a fix, they just need to play him, writes willfordy25.
Ten Hag can’t allow Casemiro to watch while McTominay and Man Utd burnThe last time Manchester City played without a defensive midfielder – either Rodri or Fernandinho – they lost the Champions League final to Chelsea. It’s fair to say they didn’t particularly miss one on Sunday, as a pair of hat-tricks from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden embarrassed Manchester United, who did play with a defensive midfielder, but not the one they should have.
After four consecutive wins on the bounce, in which Ten Hag saw something close to the best of McTominay, it wasn’t hugely surprising to see Casemiroat the Etihad. But they really could have done with him on the pitch. United were terrible in general, chasing shadows, but while most of them looked as though they either weren’t working hard or smart enough, that’s a criticism that can never be levelled at McTominay, who quite simply looked like he didn’t have the quality to compete, admittedly against the very best in the world.
To be fair to McTominay, the rest of his United teammates were either throwing fuel on the fire or simply watching it burn, but that’s no excuse for him giving the ball away and watching the numbers on the shirts of Foden, Grealish, De Bruyne et al as they raced away from him towards David De Gea’s open goal.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
'I'm shocked' - Keane slams Man Utd star for 'sleeping' in first-half mauling vs Man CityRoy Keane has criticised Man Utd star Christian Eriksen after the midfielder was caught 'sleeping' during the first-half of the Manchester derby.
Read more »
Neville explains what Ten Hag must 'analyse most' after Man Utd 'bottled it'Gary Neville believes Ten Hag must focus on one aspect of the humbling by Man City as Man Utd 'froze' at the Etihad. MUFC MCIMUN
Read more »
Fulham 1-4 Newcastle: Almiron nets brace as Magpies make ten-man Cottagers pay - Football365Jack Grealish compared Bernardo Silva to Miguel Almiron after he had a rubbish game. It was harsh at the time and it still is considering Almiron scored as many goals today as Grealish has managed in his last 19 Premier League appearances. FULNEW
Read more »
Guardiola appeared to snub Ronaldo handshake, but Man City boss loves Man United starPep Guardiola will have earned the affection of Manchester City fans after appearing to snub Cristiano Ronaldo’s handshake back in 2013. But despite the seemingly icy exchange at the Ballon d…
Read more »
Scale of Ten Hag's early Man Utd revolution highlighted by derby day differencesMan Utd fans may crave swifter changes at Old Trafford but two derby day team-sheets will highlight the revolution taking place under Erik ten Hag...
Read more »
Ten Hag says he left Ronaldo on bench 'out of respect' in Man Utd maulingFootball365 - Ronaldo's career is too 'big' to have to suffer on the pitch with his Manchester United teammates, according to Ten Hag.
Read more »