Erik Ten Hag Explains Approach To Manchester United Youth After 4-1 Win Against Melbourne Victory

Manchester United continued their winning start to pre-season earlier today with a 4-1 victory over Melbourne Victory in Australia. 

Goals from Scott McTominay, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford and an own goal from Edmond Lupancu were the difference, as United hit their opponents for four again, after Tuesday’s 4-0 thumping of Liverpool.

It was a different task this time around, though, with Ten Hag's side up against a more defensive outfit than Jurgen Klopp's men.

There was less space and more need to work the ball to find openings for United.

This was something that the manager highlighted after the game, before praising his team and in particular, Jadon Sancho and Diogo Dalot, who found openings on their side of the pitch.

“[They’re] A really compact opponent, they started really [far] back waiting for us so it was really difficult to create chances," Ten Hag told MUTV after the game.

"Also if you get down in the first minute, something is also wrong, but I think that the team reacted really good, especially down the right side.

"We created a lot; I think we created three or four really good chances already before half-time and we get our reward when we turned [it] around."

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The fixture wasn’t all smooth sailing for United, as they went 1-0 down five minutes in, courtesy of Victory’s Chris Ikonomidis,

“Yeah, I would say against opponents who also come forward, sometimes its more of an issue." Ten Hag stated.

"The spaces are bigger, but when opponents are dead back, you have to create, you have to invest more in running, in opposite running, more ball control and especially also decisions, you need intelligence to create something again.”

At half time, United’s new boss made 10 changes, including bringing on youngsters Tahith Chong and Ethan Laird.

He explained his reasoning behind utilising most of his squad, as he wants to know, in detail, what each player can offer and where their immediate future lies.

“I want to have an impression from all the players, and they get a chance to show what they can [do] and what they’re capable of, if they can contribute to Manchester United or maybe if a loan period is better,

"There is also other possibilities, but it is good that United has some talents but also you see that you need improvement and development.”

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With over 70,000 in attendance to watch the game, the manager was full of praise for the love for the game down under.

“It’s magnificent! It’s such a big stadium, a nice stadium in a city like Melbourne, but you smell the top sport culture, I would say. It’s all about football, and you see they like football here in Australia, but also other sports, it’s a really sports minded country.”