Peter Schmeichel hits out at Erik Ten Hag for bringing off key players in the second half of the Manchester derby.
What did Schmeichel say?
Speaking on talkSport, the former Manchester United legend spoke out against Ten Hag for taking off key players in the early stages of the second half.
He said: “I thought as the game progressed that the team fell in a little too deep. For my liking, I would have pushed them up a little bit.
“And also then, when you need to change the game and they have equalised and scored again, the substitutions that you make.
“You take all your pace out, you take your driving force out of midfield off? You take your best defender off? I don’t get that. Are they being rested for the next game? I really don’t get the substitutions.
“When you look what Pep’s doing, he is only taking off two players. Generally, he doesn’t substitute a lot.”
Kobbie Mainoo, Jonny Evans and Marcus Rashford were all subbed off before the 80th minute when Foden added Manchester City’s second.
Why did Ten Hag take key players out of the game?
In his post-match interview, Ten Hag admitted that Rashford and Evans weren’t 100% fit, despite them both playing over the hour-mark. The game was poised at 1-1 but Ten Hag didn’t want to risk them both for future games.
He said: “Yeah. I had to take them both off. They fought to be part of this game but after 60 or 70 minutes we had to take them off and sub them, Jonny was playing the backline brilliantly, and Rashy was a threat, not only goalscoring.
“I think he had three or four moments where he could’ve scored, and he scored the first one; he could’ve scored even more.
“We’re working on players returning, and I think players will return in the coming weeks, especially after the international break.
“Hopefully Jonny Evans and Marcus Rashford is not too bad, that they recover, and we can use them in the next game against Everton.”
Ten Hag’s facing his critics
After the game, Ten Hag received stick from pundits as Manchester United are now 11 points off the top four.
On Sky Sports, Gary Neville claimed that Ten Hag will now face the moment of truth as Manchester United manager.
He said: “Last season was really good in the sense of winning a trophy, getting into the Champions League, getting to an FA Cup final. There were a lot of good things about last season in terms of setting a foundation for Erik ten Hag.
“I would have expected this season, not to win the league as no one expected Manchester United to win the league, but they didn’t expect them to be in sixth and so far off.
“So I think that’s the problem. They’ve lost 11 games in the league and their performances are inconsistent, so is it because that’s what happens in the second season? He just needs a third to get it right?
“But they’re inconsistent. Last week’s defeat to Fulham was the real blow. The moment of truth is now. In Ole and David Moyes’ periods at the club, they had games against Man City and Liverpool in very quick succession.
“Erik ten Hag has a game against City and then two against Liverpool in the next month. He will be judged on these matches. INEOS aren’t going to wait until the end of the season to make a decision. This is a massive month for these players and the manager.”
When is Manchester United’s next game?
It seemed that Ten Hag had got his tactics spot on when Manchester United led 1-0 at the break. Rashford silenced his critics and the Etihad with a thunderbolt.
However, Pep Guardiola’s men don’t know when they’re beaten and mounted a great 3-1 comeback. Youth product Phil Foden produced the goods with two excellent goals, whilst Erling Haaland made up for his incredible miss in the first half.
Manchester United will have to dust themselves off and look ahead to their next game which is on Saturday (9th March). They host struggling Everton and it’s a good opportunity for Ten Hag’s men to put the pressure on Tottenham and Aston Villa.
The game will be broadcasted on TNT Sports with a 12:30pm kick-off.
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