Erik ten Hag Gives Brutal Assessment of Manchester United’s Display Versus Aston Villa

• Erik ten Hag has criticised his players for giving the game away against Aston Villa
• Manchester United were well beaten 3-1 at Villa Park, which ended their unbeaten run on the ground, which stretches back to 1995
• United coincidentally play Aston Villa in the League Cup and will want to avenge the loss

Manchester United has dissected the team's terrible 3-1 defeat away at Aston Villa, pinpointing the areas his side could've done better.

The Red Devils were shell-shocked by Villa's quick-fire start to the game and never really recovered, suffering another defeat by a team managed by Unai Emery.

United went into this game with a fairly decent record after the Manchester Derby capitulation a few weeks ago and seemed to be off the pace at the start of the game.

Villa had not beaten United at home in 23 matches but were the better side throughout the match as Leon Bailey, Lucas Digne and Jacob Ramsey scored for Unai Emery's side, according to Sky Sports.

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Ten Hag criticises his players

The Dutchman called out his players for being off the pace from the start of the game, allowing Aston Villa to run the game. He blasted his players for giving the game away.

"But it is not acceptable. Don't get me wrong, we have to be ready for every game and not give games away so easily."

Ten hag was particularly annoyed by how his side defended Lucas Digne's free-kick, according to MEN.

"I think the free-kick is stoppable because the wall is too far. Okay, a small detail but details make the difference in top football. It tells everything from us because we were not fresh."

United play Aston Villa in the League Cup on Thursday at Old Trafford before welcoming Fulham in the league on Sunday in their final match before the World Cup break.

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Why Maguire played as striker

Sports Brief earlier reported on Erik ten Hag explaining why he deployed Harry Maguire as a striker against Real Sociedad in the Europa League.

Maguire was brought on late in the game to partner with Cristiano Ronaldo up front, to the disbelief of fans

But the Manchester United boss claims the move was necessary because his side is currently devoid of strikers