MANCHESTER UNITED fans have been left believing Erik ten Hag is “sacking himself”.
The criticism comes after two decisions made by the manager during their 3-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
A brace from Luis Diaz and a second half strike from Mohamed Salah saw Liverpool capitalise on on two errors from Casemiro and one from Kobbie Mainoo.
Ten Hag had rolled the dice at the break by hooking Casemiro from the middle of the pitch and replacing him with 20-year-old Toby Collyer.
However, with the score 3-0 in the 69th minute, the Dutchman rolled the dice again to try and find a way back into the game.
Matthijs de Ligt and Alejandro Garnacho were both taken off for Harry Maguire and Amad Diallo respectively.
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However, fans online believed the decisions were not the correct ones.
Taking to social media, one fan said: “Maguire for De Ligt…..incredible.
“Garnacho for Amad… Ten Hag is sacking himself with this nonsense favouritism.”
A second said: “Absolutely shocking substitutions.”
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A third added: “How do u do a CB substitute when u looking for goals.”
The home crowd also made their view of the subs known when they booed Garnacho’s substitution.
De Ligt was on a yellow card at the time of the substitution, while Garnacho had had a particularly poor game as outlined by SunSport’s Man Utd player ratings.
And Garnacho’s stats showed that the Red Devils boss may well have made the right decision in an attacking sense.
The Argentine made just four forward passes during the game at Old Trafford.
Speaking after the match, Ten Hag fumed that player errors had cost the team, before bizarrely declaring he was “not Harry Potter” as he spoke about the fitness of some players going into the game.
Man Utd player ratings vs Liverpool
MANCHESTER UNITED had a horror show against Liverpool as they lost 3-0.
Casemiro was so bad he was taken off at half-time.
But were there any positive performances at Old Trafford?
Amadou Onana – 5
Nothing he could do about any of Liverpool’s goals and made a few saves to prevent the scoreline from getting worse.
Noussair Mazraoui – 5
Came close to scoring in the first half and looked solid enough against Diaz although he did push up too high before Liverpool’s opener.
Matthijs de Ligt – 4
Left Diaz and Domink Szobozslai in acres of space for the opening goal but was left in a tricky spot thanks to Casemiro’s error.
Booked for a shocking late tackle on Diaz.
Lisandro Martinez – 3
Lost Diaz for the second goal which meant the Colombian was able to score unmarked from the penalty spot.
Also guilty of giving away the ball too easily and was not tight enough with his marking.
Diogo Dalot – 4
Was caught out pushing up too quickly for the first goal and did not do enough to stop Mo Salah’s cross in the build-up to Liverpool’s second.
Looked dangerous in attack at times but too infrequently as he had plenty of defensive work to do since Rashford did not track Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Casemiro – 2
A horror show in the first half as he gave the ball away in the lead up to both of Liverpool’s goals.
He was caught on the ball for the second after a shocking misplaced pass left his defence vulnerable for the opening goal. Hooked at half-time.
Kobbie Mainoo – 4
Fell victim to the Casemiro curse as he was shrugged off the ball in a terrible position, allowing Liverpool to add a third with ease.
Bruno Fernandes – 5
Was United’s most creative spark but that is not saying much. Tried to get his side going in the first half but looked short of ideas and inspiration after the break.
Alejandro Garnacho – 4
Still appears to be a little rusty and is yet to hit the heights he reached last season.
Marcus Rashford – 3
Nothing came off for the out-of-sorts forward who must be running out of chances before he is dropped.
Joshua Zirkzee – 4
Quiet up-front and had little influence on the wing as well, but missed a clear-cut chance with his head and should have turned in Rashford’s cross which he met at the far post.
Subs
Tom Collyer (for Casemiro, HT) – 5
A difficult game for the youngster to make his Premier League debut but he put himself about and won a few tackles.
Harry Maguire (for De Ligt, 69mins) – 5
Shored things up at the back as Liverpool took their foot off the pedal.
Amad (for Garnacho, 69mins) – 5
Provided a spark on the right and looked more lively than Garnacho.
Christian Eriksen (for Zirkzee, 86mins) – N/A
Not on long enough to make an impact.
He said: “It is not like I am Harry Potter. You have to acknowledge that. For three players it was their first start of the season.
“Manuel Ugarte did not play one minute – he needs to build his fitness.
“Then we have to build him into the team. I am sure he will contribute to our team.
“It will take a couple of weeks, maybe even months. That is the same for a lot of players.”
Frontman Joshua Zirkzee was one of the trio making their first starts of the season.
The former Bologna ace had two huge chances to score from close range provided by delightful Marcus Rashford in-swinging crosses, but was unable to convert either.
Meanwhile, another new signing, Manuel Ugarte, was presented to the fans before allegedly leaving for Uruguay duty.
Ten Hag added: “I don’t want to talk about positives today. This defeat hurts for us and our fans.
“It is the third game of the season. I have had to explain this so many times. We have to build a new team. We will be fine but it is clear we have to improve.
“At the end of the season I am quite confident we will have a big chance to lift another trophy.”
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The match left Sir Jim Ratcliffe with his head in his hands.
United next play against newly-promoted Southampton away from home after the international break.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
