After the 1-2 loss at Nottingham Forest in round 20 of the Premier League, coach Erik ten Hag considered the injury storm as the biggest problem causing Man Utd to have a terrible season.
"Injuries. There were other problems, but mainly injuries that hampered Man Utd's performance," Ten Hag said after the defeat at the City Ground. "We haven't played the same team for many consecutive games. Every change like that affects the rhythm of the game and can also explain the lack of consistency."
Ten Hag in the match Man Utd lost to Nottingham Forest at City Ground on December 30 in round 20 of the Premier League. Photo: Reuters
The Dutch coach reiterated his pre-match statement, confident that Man Utd will play better when welcoming a series of key players back from the beginning of the new year. "In January, Man Utd will welcome many players back so the level can be higher," he said. "We had to play with nine different pairs of defenders. But that doesn't matter, the fans don't want to hear that. They want to see Man Utd win and we have to do that."
Man Utd will be without 11 players in the final match of 2023, with Luke Shaw, Sofyan Amrabat, Harry Maguire, Mason Mount, Tyrell Malacia, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Victor Lindelof, Anthony Martial all injured, while Jadon Sancho remains out for disciplinary reasons. Rasmus Hojlund - after scoring his first Premier League goal in the win over Aston Villa in midweek - also missed the game due to illness.
After the comeback win over Aston Villa, Man Utd returned with a lackluster performance against Nottingham Forest. The "Red Devils" controlled the ball 55%, but played deadlocked, not creating many chances with five shots on target. Their bright spot was Marcus Rashford scoring, with a low curler to the far corner after a mistake from goalkeeper Matt Turner.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest scored two goals in the same scenario from their only two shots on target. In the 64th minute, Gonzalo Montiel crossed for Nicolas Dominguez to put his right foot past goalkeeper Andre Onana. In the 82nd minute, it was Anthony Elanga, a player who played for Man Utd from 2021-2023, who crossed for Morgan Gibbs-White to shoot one-touch into the near corner, leaving Onana unable to save the shot even after he jumped.
Bruno Fernandes (No. 8) was disappointed after losing to Nottingham Forest at City Ground on December 30 in round 20 of the Premier League. Photo: Reuters
"Obviously the result is very disappointing, I'm disappointed with the first-half performance," said Ten Hag. "The team should have tried harder. We created few chances before the break and should have played faster. In the final third we weren't good enough and didn't try hard enough to create chances."
The defeat at the City Ground yesterday left Man Utd with a series of bad statistics. The 0-2 result ended the "Red Devils" 11-match winning streak against Nottingham in all competitions, and also suffered their first loss in the final Premier League match of a calendar year since 2011 - when they lost 2-3 to Blackburn Rovers.
In total, Man Utd lost 21 games in all competitions in 2023. In the club's history, there have only been three other calendar years in which they lost more: 1930 (28 games), 1972 (25) and 1921 (24).
Man Utd suffered their ninth defeat in the Premier League this season and equalled their record for the entire 2022-2023 season. The last time they lost so many in the first 20 rounds was in the 1989-1990 season, when Sir Alex Ferguson's team finished 13th. At that time, Ferguson escaped the sack thanks to the FA Cup title.
Asked about his expectations for 2024, Ten Hag replied: "First of all, the players are coming back. Then Man Utd will have a stronger squad. We will also have a stronger reserve team and have the opportunity to change mid-game. I am sure Man Utd will be stronger in the new year. We are in the same boat, the players are also not happy and have to turn things around."
On January 8, Man Utd will visit Wigan in the third round of the FA Cup and then return to Old Trafford to host Tottenham in the 21st round of the Premier League on January 14.
Hong Duy
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