Ten Hag denies crisis at Manchester United

Despite bleak headlines and a string of poor results, Erik Ten stated Manchester United has not been a crisis club this season following his team’s 2-1 win against Chelsea.

United won comfortably despite Marcus Rashford’s demotion to the substitutes’ bench, and the hard earned win, moves the Red Devils within three points of defending champions Manchester City, who are fourth after a disappointing 1-0 loss to Aston Villa. 

But with Ten Hag benching Rashford and Anthony Martial following their dismal performances in Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle United, the United manager dismissed suggestions that this club had been in crisis over the last few weeks. 

"Crisis? Not for us," Ten Hag said. "We are on a journey, we keep calm and believe in the process. We know what we have to build and we don't get distracted by criticism around us. I don't care about the noise. When we stick together, have the right attitude, we have the performances to collect points.

"You see how we won points -- we dominated our opponent with possession and that's how we want to play."

United attempted 28 shots – 9 on target- as they controlled Mauricio Pochettino’s team at the Old Trafford. And although Cole Palmer’s 44th minute goal cancelled Scott McTominay’s first half opener, the Scottish international restored the home side’s lead and secured the win with a second half header. 

"In the end we won, but we could have made life easier for ourselves," Ten Hag said. "We could have scored three times in the first 30 minutes.

"We know we are not quickly satisfied and happy because we always want to do better and put things right. But I am very pleased with the number of chances we created."

United play Bournemoth next at Old Trafford on Saturday.