Manchester United blame missed chances for defeat to Tottenham

Manchester United’s manager and goalkeeper both felt that they performed pretty well in defeat to Tottenham, but have laid the blame at the players that missed chances to score.

Spurs beat the Red Devils 2-0 in north London thanks to an opener from Pape Matar Sarr and an own goal from Lisandro Martinez.

The away team were the better side for much of the first half but dramatically fell away in the second period, which is when both of Tottenham’s goals came.

United create chances but fail to take them

Erik ten Hag’s side created chances throughout the game, with Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario making good saves from the likes of Marcus Rashford and Casemiro, but perhaps the United players should have made it impossible for the Italian.

The biggest chance fell to Bruno Fernandes who had a clear header in front of goal and sent it a long way high and wide.

Onana and Ten Hag blame missed chances

Goalkeeper Andre Onana did not accept that United were the inferior side, simply blaming the missed chances for the loss.

‘I don’t think they were better than us, we made some mistakes second half but football is not about one half,’ said the ‘keeper. ‘We started well, created chances but unfortunately we didn’t score. If we scored, it would be a different game.

‘Football is about scoring goals and we had some big chances. We have to keep working. It will come together, we are a big club. Tough times will come not only in football but in life. We have to keep calm and keep believing. I am really confident. Unfortunately we didn’t win today but I am positive.’

Ten Hag agreed, not panicking about the performance despite the disappointing result, just blaming the lack of ruthlessness in front of goal.

‘I liked the first half, a very good performance but we have to score. We created good chances, really good press and had many chances to score,’ said the Dutchman.

‘When you lose, it is never good. You have to look in the mirror. But we have to score, make the goal and quieten the crowd. It was so quiet in the stadium in the first half.’

Conclusion

Manchester United had plenty of chances to take all three points from their trip to Tottenham but failed to take them. Goalkeeper Andre Onana and manager Erik ten Hag both blamed the missed chances for the loss, with ten Hag saying that his side had ‘many chances to score’.

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