You Can’t Be Wasteful – Ten Hag Knocks Man United Players

Manager Erik Ten Hag has taken a swipe at his players, insisting that Manchester United cannot continue to waste chances during matches.

Missing quite several good opportunities before Joshua Zirkzee came off the bench to score the winner against Fulham with three minutes to go, the Dutchman said; ‘Kill in the box’ should be the watchword for the team this season.

The Manager was upset at United’s wasted chances during the match in which Captain Bruno Fernandes was repelled twice by Bernd Leno in one-on-one situations before the break and Mason Mount suffered a similar fate in the second half.

Speaking in the post-match interview, Ten Hag said; “I think one space we have to fill is to kill in the box,” adding; “We saw it in the friendlies and last week against City. We create enough chances not to wait for a late winner.

“We have to be more composed and kill. Players have to come to full speed. We have enough players with scoring abilities. We have to be more composed and we have to kill and execute in front of the goal.”

Ten Hag’s blushes were saved by his compatriot Joshua Zirkzee who came off the bench to secure a positive start to the season on his debut for United.

The Manager summarized the feeling thus; “For him, it’s very pleasing, very happy for him and it will encourage him, it will give him belief for the fans, for everyone. It’s a very good start.”

While United got away with their poor finishing, Fulham’s Manager Marco Silva was left to rue failing to make the most of good opportunities when Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martínez intercepted passes from Andreas Pereira to prevent goal-scoring opportunities.

According to the Portuguese; “We should have done much better. Four against two, three against two. So many counterattacks that we made the decision to create clear chances in that moment.”

Despite their dominance in ball possession, United’s problems with finishing were still evident. Last season, they scored only 57 goals in the league, and on Friday, it was yet another struggle to make a difference in the box

For now, the ball is in Ten Hag’s court to prove that the victory over Fulham was not by sheer luck but rather judgment and they can build on it.

A year ago, the Red Devils lost four of their opening seven matches and their season never recovered. The positives outweighed the negatives on Friday night but pundits agree that there is still a lot of work to be done.

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