Ten Hag questions refereeing decisions as Man Utd lose in Copenhagen
Manchester United are facing fresh calls to sack Erik ten Hag following their 4-3 loss at the hands of FC Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday. The Red Devils succumbed to an humiliating defeat to leave their hopes of qualifying hanging in the balance after his 10 men were stunned by a late comeback in Denmark, and Ten Hag once again finds himself under scrutiny from critics such as Richard Keys.
The visitors had raced into a two-goal lead early on at Parken Stadium after Rasmus Hojlund came back to haunt his former club with two goals from close range.
But the tie was turned on its head when Marcus Rashford was shown a straight red card following an intervention from VAR. Copenhagen capitalised on the chaos to score twice in first-half stoppage time, first through Mohammed Elyounoussi and then a contentious penalty from Diogo Goncalves after Harry Maguire was deemed to have handled inside the box.
United came out of the blocks looking more assured and were awarded a penalty of their own through another dubious VAR call, with Bruno Fernandes putting Ten Hag’s side 3-2 up. However, some poor defending allowed Lukas Lerager to level the game at 3-3 with three minutes to go before 17-year-old Roony Bardghji beat Andre Onana to send the crowd into pandemonium.
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Ten Hag bemoaned the crucial red card and penalty decisions that changed the direction of the game. But there will be more pressure placed on his shoulders considering the manner in which United collapsed having twice led in the game, with Keys claiming the scale of the job is ‘too big’ for the Dutchman.
The former Sky Sports presenter, now working with beIN Sports, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): “Ten Hag speaks as if refs aren’t allowed to give pens v Utd. Those days ended when Fergie [Sir Alex Ferguson] left.
“This group isn’t good enough. Nor is he. It’s all too big for him. It always has been. He’s wasted millions & taken them backwards. Last night was a new low. Beware Luton.”
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The 53-year-old has remained defiant in his role, insisting he can turn things around after a poor start to the season, and claimed his side were in control of the game before referee Donatas Rumsas’ decisions changed the nature of the game.
“It’s clear: we are very disappointed, we started the game so well – the best 10 minutes of the season – we are winning the game and the red card changes everything. We [then] concede two goals before half-time which should never count,” Ten Hag told reporters.
“The first is offside, the second a penalty – but it’s so close and the hand is in such a normal position. The red card is harsh, he [Rashford] went for the ball and the referee needed such a long time [to decide]. When you freeze [the footage] it always looks worse.
“I’m very disappointed about such decisions. The game is never meant to be like this – this has nothing to do with football. Decisions have to be made and I accept wrong decisions are also made at this level. Three such tough decisions [tonight] when you control the game.”
Ten Hag has now overseen nine defeats in 18 games this season across all competitions, with only one victory from four Champions League matches. His side now must beat Galatasaray in Turkey on matchday five to stand any realistic chance of qualifying for the knockout phase.
But first they face Luton Town at Old Trafford on Saturday and any further slip-ups are unlikely to be tolerated by the fanbase or hierarchy after some disappointing results of late.
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