Erik ten Hag criticises Man Utd forwards after Wolves win
- Man Utd narrowly beat Wolves in their first game of the Premier League season
- Red Devils managed half as many shots on target as their opponents
- Ten Hag insisted he was impressed with Man Utd's win despite the poor performance
Erik ten Hag has criticised Manchester United's forward line for their performance in their narrow 1-0 win over Wolves on Monday evening.
The Red Devils had to rely on a 76th minute goal from defender Raphael Varane to get them over the line against a spirited Wolves at Old Trafford, with Man Utd only managing three shots on target during the game - half the number Wolves managed.
Speaking during his post-match press conference, Ten Hag confessed his forward line of Antony, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho fell short of expectations.
"I think we could have scored five or six turnovers and there were overloads, but I think the frontline was not in the best form today and we could have made more out of it from the overload situations," the United boss confessed.
"Last week, we scored some incredible goals. This week, it's the form of the day and we didn't, but it will come. We have to move with the ball and be compact. Once we are compact, we have to be aggressive and fight in the duels. Today, we lost some fights and the counterattacks you allow.
"But luckily we were defending the counter attacks well and in Andre Onana we had some very good saves."
READ THE LATEST MAN UTD NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP
feed
Despite his unhappiness with his frontline's performance without new signing Rasmus Hojlund, Ten Hag was happy with his side's ability to find a way to win.
"They were more aggressive [than] we were, but then still, we have to find a way to win the game," he continued. "That is what we did and then you see the spirit of the team and the willingness to win. And we're happy.
"I was really pleased with the win, of course, and it was a fight. It's all about [getting] back into the season. We know we have to fight for our points and on the ball. It wasn't a great game outside but we had to fight. We have to find a way to win and that's what we did."
LISTEN TO 90MIN'S MAN UTD PODCAST: THE PROMISED LAND
On this edition of The Promised Land, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders and Rob Blanchette talk about Jean-Clair Todibo potentially replacing Harry Maguire, as well as views on Scott McTominay, Fred, Dean Henderson and Donny van de Beek.
If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!