'It's quite clear Manchester United was not awake' - Erik ten Hag on Cadiz flop in winter friendly

Manchester United faced off against Cadiz in a mid-season winter friendly but went down 2-4. Consequently, the former's boss Erik ten Hag, was not impressed and accused his side of sleeping during the match.

football It is quite clear Manchester United was not awake - Erik ten Hag on Cadiz flop in winter-friendly-ayh

Ayush Gupta

First Published Dec 8, 2022, 2:30 PM IST | Last Updated Dec 8, 2022, 2:31 PM IST

English giants Manchester United faced off against Cadiz in a mid-season winter friendly at the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla on Wednesday. With most of the visitors' prime players engaged in Qatar for the FIFA World Cup 2022, it fielded the reserve bench of the club. As the reserve players were put to the test, the result did not turn out to be impressive, with the Red Devils losing 2-4, while the ones to score for the side were Anthony Martial (21, penalty) and Kobbie Mainoo (48). In the meantime, United head coach Erik ten Hag was visibly upset with the performance of his boys, who were trailing 0-2 by the 13th minute and lamented them for sleeping during the meet.

Uttering to MUTV, ten Hag noted, "It's quite clear we were not awake. We were asleep in the first 15 minutes. They were a threat in transition. In the second goal, we were not awake, a bad rest defence - especially in the midfield, we got ran off. It's not possible, unacceptable."

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"The first goal, a set play, bad organisation and discipline; you concede a goal. After that, we came into the game but couldn't make the equaliser before half-time. We are unhappy with this game. Of course, you always have some positives even when you lose, but today there are more negatives," added ten Hag.

However, ten Hag commented, expressing his content over the young United batch, "They gave energy. They run and fight, maybe not always in the right organisation. They make mistakes. It was a good lesson. They see that small mistakes have big consequences." The Red Devils play Real Betis on December 10 at the Benito Villamarín Stadium before resuming its season with the EFL Cup contest against Burnley on December 21 at Old Trafford.

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