Man Utd spirit key to derby win, declares Ten Hag

Football
14 Jan 2023 • 11:03 PM MYT
Tribal Football
Tribal Football

Tribal Football covers news from the Premier League, LaLiga and Serie A

image is not available

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United's self-belief saw them home against Manchester City.

United won 2-1 after going a goal down.

Ten Hag said, "The first half we played very well. We defended very well and broke in good opportunities. We were really happy at half-time.

"After half-time we had to sub Martial, he had some complaints, and the game changed. City came in, we were not proactive. They scored. The spirit of the team is so huge, the belief is there that the game is 90 minutes and we can fight back.

"I'm really happy with the performance of the team."

On Bruno Fernandes' controversial goal, he added: "I can see it from the other side as well. The rules, it's a confusing moment for the back line of the opponent. The rules say Marcus didn't touch the ball and he wasn't interfering. Bruno came from the back – but I can see it from the other side."

On Marcus Rashford recovering from a first-half knock: "Players have to be resilient. You get kicked in a game. It happened and it hurts but you have to keep going. You have to do it to get the right result and performance. Deal with the painful moment and the game will go on. In top football you have to suffer and sacrifice to get the right result.

"The belief is back and we're in a good direction. You have to work out of possession [against teams like City]. They have qualities in split-moments to score goals. We saw that today. One mistake and they scored."