'Thank you for the lesson, Pep' - Ten Hag admits Man Utd were given 'reality check' by City on derby day
- Man Utd heavily defeated in derby
- Ten Hag says it will help his team be better
- Ended run of four consecutive wins
WHAT HAPPENED? United were humiliated by their noisy neighbours at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, losing 6-3 and conceding two hat-ticks, one to Phil Foden and the other to Erling Haaland. Whilst certainly a tough pill to swallow, Ten Hag has made it clear his team will learn from the defeat.
WHAT HE SAID: In a press conference, Ten Hag said: "You will have setbacks. We beat Arsenal, we beat Liverpool, Sunday we had a bad day at the office. City were better, we have to accept that, but we can't accept our unacceptable performance. That's what you always do [tweak], you take respect of the opponent, but we will stick to our philosophy and principles. We can get a lot of confidence from beating Arsenal and Liverpool, but now we get a reality check with Man City. So thank you for the lesson, Pep and City. We have to understand, we have to do things much better."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: The loss brought United's four-game winning streak to a screeching halt and left them nine points behind leaders Arsenal, albeit having played one game less.
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WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED? Ten Hag's men will now switch their focus to a return to continental action, facing Omonia in the Europa League on October 6. They will then travel to Everton to try and get their Premier League season back on track.