"Injuries have caused us a lot of problems during this period. In January, Man Utd will have a lot of players returning from injury so our level can be higher," coach Ten Hag expressed on Sky Sport channel after Man Utd's loss to Nottingham Forest in round 20 of the Premier League which took place in the early morning of December 31 (Vietnam time).
Man Utd suffered their first defeat against Nottingham Forest since 1994 (Photo: Getty).
After a goalless first half, Man Utd conceded the first goal in the 64th minute after a shot from Nicolas Dominguez. However, goalkeeper Matt Turner made a mistake in his pass, allowing striker Marcus Rashford to equalize 1-1 in the 78th minute.
However, striker Gibbs-White brought home a 2-1 victory for the home team Nottingham with a beautiful finish from the edge of the penalty area in the 82nd minute. Notably, this was Nottingham's first victory over Man Utd since 1994, after a series of 11 consecutive losses to the "Red Devils".
The defeat on the last day of the 2023 calendar year made Man Utd set a terrible milestone with 14 losses in all competitions this season, including 9 losses after 20 Premier League rounds.
Coach ten Hag blamed the injuries of many key players for Man Utd's poor results this season (Photo: Getty).
"Everyone can see that our squad has problems. We had to play this match with an attack that was not as expected. Obviously the result is very disappointing," said coach Ten Hag.
The Dutch tactician added: "Man Utd should have done better when the chances came. We didn't have many chances in the first half but the second half was better.
We were a goal down and you could see the players were fighting. Man Utd had chances after the equaliser, hoping for a good result but it was a disappointment.
The players are not happy with this, we have to do better. Man Utd have not played with their strongest squad. Injuries have disrupted the squad a lot, causing a lot of difficulties and that also explains why the team has had such an inconsistent season."
Meanwhile, former Man Utd star Gary Neville heavily criticized coach Ten Hag's team: "Man Utd returned to their old form: terribly inconsistent.
They left the pitch in defeat. The Man Utd fans behind the goal will be disappointed. This team is back to their worst. It was a very difficult game. I think everyone believes that Erik Ten Hag did very well in his first season, but this season he has not done well."
Man Utd's next match will be on January 9 when they face Wigan Athletic in the third round of the FA Cup.
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