KEY POINTS
- Arsenal defeated Man Utd 3-2 at Old Trafford
- Eddie Nketiah netted the winner for Arsenal
- It was Man Utd’s fifth loss of the league season
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has revealed what he told his players after their loss to Arsenal in the Premier League.
English forward Eddie Nketiah struck a last-minute winner for Arsenal in their 3-2 victory at Old Trafford on Sunday. Manchester United lost the chance of cutting down the deficit from league leaders Arsenal as they went five points clear at the top of the Premier League table with a game in hand.
“It was a great game with a lot of tempo and the audience is the big winner. Two top teams but of course, we are disappointed when you lose this game at a late stage. All the goals we conceded today are mistakes – it can’t happen. Even last week, we were so hard to beat in such situations. Today we were not. All three goals, we could have avoided,” Ten Hag told reporters in a post-match interview.
Manchester United were on an eight-game unbeaten streak going into the match. They suffered their fifth loss of the league campaign Sunday and also dropped to fourth place. The Red Devils and Newcastle United have 39 points each but the St. James’ Park side is in the third spot because of a superior goal difference.
The Old Trafford side has not won the Premier League since the 2012-13 season when they lifted the coveted trophy under Sir Alex Ferguson.
On Sunday, Manchester United went 1-0 up, courtesy of Marcus Rashford’s 17th-minute strike before Nketiah found an equalizer for the touring side a few minutes later.
In the 53rd minute, Bukayo Saka put Arsenal in the lead before center-back Lisandro Martinez leveled the score six minutes later.
“They are very good on the ball but we are a good defending team. There were not a lot of open chances. We made mistakes that we cannot make. This game was decided by small details but also the decision making. That is hard to accept and we have to learn from it. I want to win. It is not good enough. We want to be number one but not if we make mistakes. That is clear and what I told them,” added Ten Hag.
Manchester United‘s next game is the first leg of their League Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
