Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag hinted his players did not match the passion and desire of Newcastle United in their defeat to the Magpies in their most recent fixture.
Manchester United resumed their campaign after the March international break by taking on Newcastle United in a Premier League fixture. However, it was Newcastle United who emerged on top, inflicting a 2-0 defeat on the Red Devils.
Goals from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson in the 65th and 88th minutes respectively saw Newcastle United earn all three points from the fixture. The victory also lifted Newcastle United to third in the Premier League points table while Manchester United dropped to fourth.
The Red Devils were far from their best against Newcastle United. Despite dominating the possession against Newcastle United, Manchester United only managed to register six shots and one shot on target in the game. In comparison, Newcastle United had 22 shots and six shots on target.
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Erik ten Hag: You can only win when you match the desire and passion of the opponent
Speaking after the match, Erik ten Hag hinted Manchester United did not match the passion and desire of Newcastle United. He was also unhappy that Manchester United were not angrier than Newcastle United in that game.
“I said after the game in the dressing room, ‘It can’t be that the opponent is angrier than we are’. The race for the top four is going to be a fight, and you can only win when you match the desire and passion of the opponent,” Erik ten Hag told BBC Radio 5 Live [via GOAL].
“Setbacks always you have to deal with, we have to leave this behind and only take the lessons from the determination, about the passion and desire.”
The defeat to Newcastle United sees Manchester United dragged back into the top-four race. Newcastle United have 50 points from 27 matches, and so does Manchester United. But the Magpies have the better goal difference and, as a result, take third place.
Fourth-placed Manchester United are only one point ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs have 49 points but have played 28 games, which is one more than Manchester United have.
Manchester United are now without a win in their last three Premier League fixtures and will be aiming to return to winning ways when they take on Brentford in their next match in the English top flight.
