[ad_1]
Erik ten Hag hailed Bruno Fernandes as the “best player on the pitch” for his “personal” display as Man Utd recovered from what he admitted was the “satisfaction” of beating Betis.
Fernandes was singled out for harsher criticism than his teammates after United’s 7-0 thrashing at Liverpool on Sunday, with moments of petulance raising questions about his suitability to wear the captain’s armband.
He had been defended by Ten Hag and Marcus Rashford in Thursday’s Europa League last 16 tie, and responded in his own best way with the best player performance at Old Trafford as he scored. one goal and made another.
“He is the best player on the pitch and it shows his personality. He played a deeper role tonight, he is very good,” said Ten Hag.
“He was a leader in playmaking from deep and controlled the rhythm of the game. He had a lot of good passes between the lines and from there we created a lot of chances.”
Ten Hag added to bt sports: “He led the team from the first minute with the game, with possession, creating the rhythm of the game and scoring goals so I’m happy.”
United’s performance at Anfield last weekend was their third defeat in the Premier League this season, following hammerings at Brentford and Manchester City earlier in the campaign.
On each occasion, they bounced back from adversity to win the next match, and again showed their mettle to hold off Betis’ growing momentum after the first-half equaliser, to respond with three unanswered goals after the break.
The Ten Hag spoke after he had expressed his frustration with the new signing’s performance ahead of the Liverpool game, but the result at Anfield has proved his point.
Manchester United’s Antony celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the Europa League round of 16 first leg soccer match between Manchester United and Real Betis at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, Thursday, March 9, 2023. (AP Ph.
He said: “It is not about neglect [Sunday’s game], we made a mistake and we got hammered for that. We do not control the standards we have.
“If you can say that we feel comfortable, you won’t be able to do that in top football. In the previous week [the Liverpool defeat] I wasn’t happy with the performance against Newcastle, I wasn’t happy against Leicester with the performance in the first half.
“Sometimes you need a bad result to open everyone’s eyes first.”
United named an unchanged line-up from the Anfield defeat against Betis, and Ten Hag admitted his decision to stay with the same team had been motivated by the chance to redeem himself in the Europa League.
He said: “That’s it, but I think it’s the best line-up I’ve seen against Betis. We’ve played 23 games in a row with one defeat, and although the 24th was a big defeat, you can’t ignore the previous 22 games. where this team plays very well.”
[ad_2]
Source link