Ten Hag: 'Sevilla wants more than Man Utd'
"When you make mistakes like that, it's very difficult to win," Ten Hag told BT Sport after the Europa League quarter-final second leg. "Obviously the atmosphere on the pitch could have had an impact. But the fans expect Man Utd to be able to cope, and I don't want to make excuses for the result."
According to the Dutch coach, Man Utd "lack of composure, lack of bravery, made bad decisions and lost duels', while Sevilla was "richer in enthusiasm, desire and passion".
He then continued to criticize the students. "I trust the players, but they have to show it, and they didn't play well enough today," said Ten Hag. "We let ourselves down and let the fans down. If you want to be successful and win titles, you need personality."
On the Sanchez Pizjuan field yesterday, Man Utd failed because of mistakes in the defense. In the 8th minute, David de Gea passed Harry Maguire, who was being approached by three players and this captain's central defender lost the ball. Youssef En-Nesyri took advantage of the opportunity with a left footed shot to the near corner, leaving De Gea rooted.
In the 40th minute, it was Casemiro's turn to pass the error, creating conditions for Sevilla to get on the ball quickly. Marcos Acuna crossed for Lucas Ocampos to save his heart in the far corner, but VAR denied the goal for offside. The host did not have to regret long when he doubled the lead in the second half thanks to Loic Bade's header.
Man Utd's disastrous match day ended with another mistake from De Gea in the 81st minute. The Spanish goalkeeper handled the error when he rushed out of the penalty area to catch a high ball without pressure, creating conditions to En-Nesyri put the ball into the empty goal, completed a brace and sealed a 3-0 victory.
"Man Utd played well many times and deserved to win," said Ten Hag. "But today and many other games we weren't ready for the game and that's unacceptable. A club the size of Man Utd has to be ready for every game. This is a great opportunity, the European quarter-final. Europe, let us show off but then squander ourselves. We have to blame ourselves."
The Dutch coach admitted that Man Utd was punished by the opponent when he made more mistakes than usual and was not strong enough to stand up and correct himself. He also defended De Gea when he pointed out that the Spaniard has kept 14 clean sheets in the Premier League - the best number in the league.
For the second time, Man Utd has made two direct errors leading to a goal in a match this season, after a 0-4 defeat at Brentford in the second round of the English Premier League. This season, the "Red Devils" have many other heavy defeats such as losing to Man City 3-6 or Liverpool 0-7.
Ten Hag admits making mistakes is Man Utd's problem, but wants to focus on the next match against Brighton in the FA Cup semi-final on April 23. The 53-year-old coach sees this as an opportunity for the students to stand up, show their bravery, personality and find victory again.
