Erik ten Hag Unveils Primary Challenge Behind Manchester United’s Difficult 2023/24 Season

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“The Red Devils suffered their ninth defeat in 20 Premier League games this season with a disappointing 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest on Saturday night.

Nicolas Dominguez opened the scoring for the hosts just after the hour mark, and despite Marcus Rashford equalizing, Morgan Gibbs-White secured the winner for Forest.

Despite a promising comeback against Aston Villa on Boxing Day, where United rallied from two goals down to win 3-2, they faltered in a lackluster performance against Forest just days later.

Rasmus Hojlund, the hero of the Boxing Day clash, was absent due to illness, and key players like Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, Mason Mount, and Harry Maguire were sidelined due to injuries.

Post-match, Ten Hag emphasized that the inability to consistently field a strong team has been a significant factor affecting their ambitions this season.”

When questioned by Sky Sports about the primary issue affecting United’s campaign, Ten Hag pointed to injuries, stating, “Mainly the injuries hold us back in the process. In January, we have a lot of players returning, so then our levels can be higher.”

Ten Hag continued, acknowledging the disappointment of the result and expressing the need for increased investment in crucial moments. He noted, “We created less before half-time. We didn’t do [enough].

The second half was better. We are losing the game by a goal, and you saw the fight in the team. We had our chances; the football in the second half was better.”

Highlighting the challenge of inconsistent lineups, Ten Hag emphasized, “We haven’t played with the same team in a row.

We had to change again, so every time we have to swap our team. That doesn’t help or support the routines of the team, and it explains why you are so inconsistent.”

United currently sits in seventh place in the Premier League table, and with potential wins by Brighton & Hove Albion and Newcastle United in their games in hand, they could drop as low as ninth before their next match.

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