Coach Ten Hag: 'Everything is against Man Utd'
"Man Utd played well but everything was against us," Ten Hag said after the loss at the Emirates. "When that happens, you can't win. It wasn't offside, just the wrong angle. It was a penalty for Rasmus Hojlund, and in the end, we conceded when Jonny Evans was fouled. error".
The first situation that Ten Hag mentioned was in the 88th minute, when Casemiro poked a hole to let his substitute Alejandro Garnacho escape into the penalty area and put his heart in the far corner to beat goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale. The Man Utd players seemed to have raised the score to 2-1 and ran to the corner of the field to celebrate. But then, VAR stepped in, the line identified Garnacho standing under the Arsenal defense and denied the away team's goal.
Not long after, substitute striker Hojlund sped from home field into the penalty area, dribbled across the goal and fell under Gabriel's pressure. Referee Anthony Taylor did not cut the whistle, but waved his hand to continue the game.
In the sixth minute of injury, Gabriel contested Jonny Evans in the box, when Arsenal were awarded a corner. The ball reached Declan Rice's feet, let the English midfielder hit Evans himself, changing direction, knocking down goalkeeper Andre Onana to make it 2-1 for Arsenal. Evans and Harry Maguire immediately ran to referee Taylor to react, but the goal was still recognized.
When asked more about Garnacho's rejected goal, Ten Hag replied: "We have to accept it but I don't think it was offside. That's something you have to accept."
Former midfielder Roy Keane understands Ten Hag's frustration. In comments on British television, he said: "He was angry, felt the referee's decisions went against Man Utd and caused them to lose. I agree with Ten Hag that there are a lot of positive things, but decisions are sometimes for and sometimes against you".
Former Man City defender Micah Richards said that Garnacho's situation was sensitive, judging Man Utd to play well but could not make a difference at important moments.
In fact, VAR also took away Arsenal's joy in the match. In the 60th minute, referee Taylor blew a penalty after Kai Havertz collided with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and fell in the penalty area. However, after consulting VAR and then personally going to the touchline to review the video, he changed his decision and canceled the penalty.
In this match, Man Utd was somewhat inferior, mainly playing defensive counter-attack. They held the ball 45%, shot 10 times and 2 of them hit the target, while Arsenal's two corresponding indexes were 17 and 5. The away team also only received three corners, less than a quarter compared to the home team. home.
In the 27th minute, from a quick ball situation, Man Utd took the lead thanks to Marcus Rashford's curling effort. But exactly one minute later, Gabriel Martinelli released the rebound to allow captain Martin Odegaard to shoot a one-touch shot to the near corner to equalize the score 1-1. In extra time, Rice and substitute striker Gabriel Jesus scored to bring home a 3-1 victory at Old Trafford.
"I think this is a real step forward and I am satisfied with the team's performance," Ten Hag added. "Man Utd played compactly, defended the area well and advanced. But I saw Man Utd miss some forward passes that could have hurt Arsenal more."
