KEY POINTS

  • Aston Villa defeated Man Utd 3-1 on Sunday in the league
  • It was Man Utd's first league loss since Oct. 2
  • Man Utd will next play in a League Cup game Thursday

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has admitted that his side produced a "collectively bad performance" after their 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

Aston Villa has not beaten Manchester United on home soil since 1995 but goals from Leon Bailey and Lucas Digne put the hosts 2-0 up 11 minutes from the kick-off. An own goal from Jacob Ramsey pulled one back for the Red Devils just before the half-time break. But the 21-year-old midfielder made up for his blunder soon into the second half with his 49th-minute strike.

Reacting to Manchester United's defeat, which was their first loss in the Premier League since Oct. 2, Ten Hag said his side lost the game at the beginning of both halves.

"We lost the game at the start of the first half and second half and that is not acceptable. They looked more fresh and more ready. We need to be more sharp. The result is really clear. It never lies. Today we were not good enough. We didn't get the right organization. We created chances and good chances at 2-1. But you are really disappointed to concede at the start of the second half," Ten Hag said in a post-match interview, reported Goal.

Ten Hag also criticized his boys' continuous attempts to find Cristiano Ronaldo with crosses, something he said was not part of the gameplan.

"I think it was stupid to do that. We delivered some crosses in for too far. We have to bring in crosses in the right moment. It was collectively a bad performance," Ten Hag said.

Cristiano Ronaldo (left) escaped after a VAR check for a red card in Manchester United's defeat at Aston Villa
AFP

Ten Hag and Co. blew up a golden opportunity to close into fourth place in the league game. A win over Aston Villa would have put them on the same points as fourth-placed Spurs with a game in hand. Spurs also lost 2-1 later in the day at home to Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.

The 3-1 win over Manchester United marked Aston Villa boss Unai Emery's return to Premier League in a special way. It was Emery's first game in charge of Aston Villa after he replaced Steven Gerrard as the Midlands club's boss.

Manchester United and Aston Villa are scheduled to come face to face again on Thursday at Old Trafford in a League Cup fixture.

Soccer