Erik ten Hag was pleased with a lot of the things that he saw during Manchester United’s 2-1 win over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.Ā
A hard-fought three points for the 10-man Reds š#MUFC || #MUNCRY
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 4, 2023
United were in cruise control as they went 2-0 up in the 62nd minute, thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, however, the game was turned on its head, when Casemiro saw red in the 70th minute of the game, which gave Palace encouragement that they could get something from the game.
After United were reduced to 10 men, Palace had a spring in their tale, and it showed as in the 76th minute Jeffrey Schlupp scored to make it 2-1, which meant that United had to show resilience and character as they had to dig deep and see the last 14 minutes and plus the additional seven minutes that were added on in stoppage time in order to secure all three points.
Even though, United were hanging on at the end, ten Hag said that he was delighted with the way that his side performed up until the dismissal of Casemiro, and it is hard to argue with that assessment because United were outstanding as they dominated the ball, regularly sustaining attacks and pining Palace back, which would have undoubtably pleased ten Hag because this is how he wants his United team to play on a more regular basis.
“I love many things. First of all, the quality of the game. In the first 70 minutes, we played a really good game on the pitch, in the possession, the formations and the passing security. The defensive transitions and the counter press were also brilliant and I think we dominated the game. I think we deserved the lead and especially the second goal was a great goal to see” [via Man United].
Next up for ten Hag and Man United is a home game against Leeds United on Wednesday night, which kicks off at 8pm UK time.