Rio Ferdinand has criticized Erik ten Hag’s ‘kamikaze’ style of play at Manchester United for bringing out the ‘worst’ in players during a difficult season.
Ten Hag saw his team waste their lead for the third game in a row when Liverpool scored a penalty in injury time to rescue a point at Old Trafford and keep the Premier League title race alive.
Goals from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo canceled out Luis Díaz’s opener before Mohamed Salah scored from a penalty after a foul by Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the area.
Despite the impressive result against Jurgen Klopp’s title contenders, Ten Hag’s tactics were again highlighted by critical former players, with Roy Keane furious that they are “playing like a small club” and Gary Neville branding the Dutchman’s training “bizarre.” “.
The 54-year-old is in his second season at the 13-time Premier League champions and has faced several questions about his team’s playing style, which appears to change from match to match.
Rio Ferdinand criticized Erik ten Hag’s ‘kamikaze’ style of play at Manchester United for bringing out the ‘worst’ in players
United have lost the lead in their last three Premier League games under Ten Hag
The Manchester United manager rejected criticism of his tactics against Liverpool after the match
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Chaos was the predominant theme in United’s 3-2 midweek defeat to Chelsea and again against arch-rivals Liverpool on Sunday, and Ferdinand believes Ten Hag’s tactics are making the players look bad.
speaking in his Vibrates with five Speaking on a YouTube show, the frustrated former United defender said: “The manager came out earlier and said ‘if someone can’t see the style of play then I don’t know what they’re seeing’ and basically ‘we have a style of play.’
‘For the life of me, I give it the benefit of the doubt every time and I look at it and think every time “what is it?”
“I said yesterday (Sunday) after the game if kamikaze, open up Sesame, without control of the game, what we are looking for is football, he is clear about it and he is doing a great job because that is what we are playing.” .
“You can put it down to injuries, we have a lot of injuries, but a lot of teams have injuries and are still playing the style of football they are trying to achieve.” “I don’t think Ten Hag’s style is this kamikaze, chaotic football,” he added.
Ferdinand highlighted the performances of Brazilian midfielder Casemiro, who won the Champions League five times with Real Madrid before joining United two years ago.
The 32-year-old was sensational during his debut year, playing an influential role in United’s Carabao Cup triumph and reaching the FA Cup final along with a third-place finish in the Premier League, but has had problems with injuries and his form this season.
Liverpool broke through United’s two-man defensive midfield, Casemiro and Mainoo, and Ferdinand went on to explain how Ten Hag’s “open” style of football is making the duo “sometimes look worse.”
Former United defender Ferdinand criticized United’s performances under Ten Hag this season
Ferdinand believes Ten Hag’s tactics are making United midfielder Casemiro look worse
Ferdinand also believes United’s style of play is not getting the best out of young Kobbie Mainoo.
“That type of football leads to seeing players at their worst sometimes, for example Casemiro, despite everything he has won and the great player he has been, will seem worse when the tactics are what they are.
‘Open transitional football with large spaces around him, in that midfield sometimes there is another midfielder 20 meters away.
“That never happened at Real Madrid, so you don’t see his worst traits, which is his mobility, the same with Kobbie Mainoo, so you do things with a structure so you don’t see that.
United have endured a difficult Premier League campaign during Ten Hag’s second season at the club.
‘We’re doing things where you’re going to see exactly their worst feature, so sometimes it makes them look worse. If you look at Hojlund, how many balls did we get into the area, balls for him to run? He doesn’t seem to be playing to his strengths.
“Then you have a 19-year-old center back (Kwambala), with no protection in front of him.
“The number of times Liverpool passed the ball from the back towards an attacking midfielder, that’s why I say their performance has been magnificent, as they have had to deal with things that a structured team wouldn’t have to deal with as well. “. a lot.
“There are a lot of things happening in the team where we don’t see the best in our players and that is because of the way the team is organized,” he added.