Manchester United fell to a disappointing 3-1 loss at the hands of Aston Villa.
Villa scored his goals through Leon Bailly, Lucas Digne and Jacob Ramsey.
United’s only goal was a Ramsey own goal when the midfielder found himself in no man’s land after Luke Shaw’s volley hit him and was deflected behind the Villa net.
United were mediocre and had one of their worst performances in recent weeks, reminiscent of the derby day thrashing at the Etihad.
Specifically, the Red Devils lacked defensively and saw their setbacks punished behind by ruthless Villa players.
Even in attack, Ten Hag’s men lacked the imagination, creativity and inventiveness that the dynamic Bruno Fernandes often brings.
Fernandes was unavailable for selection after picking up a yellow card against West Ham a week ago.
United’s players seemed to lack patience when it came to creating chances, which saw them become forceful at times in their creation.
Most of the team’s chance creation was hasty and purposeless. This manifested itself in the constant throwing of the ball aimlessly into the box in the hope of finding Ronaldo.
This also happened against Real Sociedad.
Ten Hag took issue with this after the game, calling the practice “stupid.”
Athletic’s Carl Anka, who spoke to the United boss after reports of the thrashing: “I asked Ten Hag if the number of crosses Manchester United attempted in the first half was a deliberate approach to feed Ronaldo.
His response was, “No, that was stupid.”
Anka adds: “He then described his frustration with the United players running into the center and not waiting for the right moment.”
He asked Ten Hag if the number of crosses #MUFC attempted in the first half was a deliberate approach to feed Ronaldo.
His response “No, that was stupid.” He then described his frustration with United players running into the center and not waiting for the right moment.
— Carl Anka (@Ankaman616) November 6, 2022
Hopefully, this is something the coach and his coaching staff look to correct on the training pitch.
