Erik ten Hag hailed his Manchester United team after they reached the FA Cup final and made a bizarre comparison to great Red Devils sides of the past under Sir Alex Ferguson.
United edged past Championship opponents Coventry City at Wembley in the semi-final on Sunday, but their victory wasn’t without drama after they squandered a three-goal lead before triumphing 4-2 on penalties.
Coventry also had a goal chalked off in extra time by VAR when USA striker Haji Wright was marginally offside before he squared to Victor Torp to tuck home.
The chaotic clash capped the latest underwhelming performance and dismal collapse by the Red Devils in a season that has been marred by problems both on and off the field.
United were heavily criticised despite their victory, but Ten Hag remained bullish when speaking post-game.
Erik ten Hag hailed his Manchester United team after they reached the FA Cup final on Sunday
United won on penalties against Championship opponents Coventry, but it was a poor display
Ten Hag seemingly made a bizarre comparison to Sir Alex Ferguson’s great United team
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‘It’s not a shame, it’s a great achievement,’ he told Dutch outlet Ziggo Sport. ‘We have reached the FA Cup final two times in a row, that’s incredible.
‘Even the great Manchester United team a decade ago only managed to reach the final three times in 10 years. We did it twice in two years.’
Ten Hag’s bizarre comparison came despite United reaching three successive cup finals in the 1990s, while they won the competition three time in six seasons between 1993 and 1999.
Meanwhile, in the 2000s, Sir Alex Ferguson’s side played in the showpiece event in back-to-back seasons in 2003-04 and 2004-05, before they were runners-up again in 2006-07.
United failed to reach the final between 2007 and 2016, but during that period they did win the Premier League on four occasions so it seems a stretch to compare Ten Hag’s current team to that iteration.
In truth, it has been a torrid season for the Red Devils, with the club failing to build on their achievements of winning the Carabao Cup and finishing third in Ten Hag’s first year at the club.
After crashing out of the Champions League in the group stage, they were also knocked out of the Carabao Cup in the fourth round.
Meanwhile, they are almost certain to miss out on the top four, with Ten Hag’s men 16 points adrift of the Champions League spots, while they have won 15 and lost 12 league games this season, evidencing their struggles and inconsistency.
Their goal difference of minus one only adds to to the storyline of a difficult campaign and United are in a battle to even qualify for the Europa Conference League.
This has led to Ten Hag coming under significant pressure, with speculation that new part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe – who was watching on at Wembley alongside Avram Glazer – may look to replace him this summer.
Speaking in his post-match press conference after their nervy victory, Ten Hag admitted his side need to do better at times.
He added: ‘I see the mistakes we make. You can’t avoid them. We can play at very high levels but in same match we can go to very low levels and it’s not explainable.
‘It’s about game management, responsibility and decision-making. We have to do better in these occasions. On several occasions like this we let the result slip away but today we got away with it.
New part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe was watching on and Ten Hag has come under heavy scrutiny
The great team Ten Hag seemingly referred to reached three FA Cup finals in four years, while they won the showpiece event back in 2004
‘I don’t think heads dropped but we had many setbacks and maybe our reaction is human but it’s not acceptable. When you are in control you should win easily.
‘We have to do better in these occasions. On several occasions like this we let the result slip away but today we got away with it.
‘I don’t think heads dropped but we had many setbacks and maybe our reaction is human but it’s not acceptable. When you are in control you should win easily.’
United return to action on Wednesday when they take on Sheffield United, with Ten Hag’s side hoping to pick up just their second win in their past eight league games.
Source From: Football | Mail Online
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