''We were the better team in the first half' — Erik Ten Hag on Liverpool defeat

Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag feels his team had a better first half than Liverpool before collapsing in the second half of their humiliating 7-0 loss in the Premier League. 

Manchester United equalled the biggest-ever defeat in the club’s history during the loss to Liverpool, but only conceded once in the first half thanks to a superb Cody Gakpo finish on the cusp of half-time. 

After the game, Ten Hag reasoned that the team conceding only once in the opening 45 minutes was due to the fact that they had been the better team in the half. 

The Dutch manager compared the game against Liverpool to Manchester United’s second-biggest loss in the Premier League this season, the 4-0 loss to Brentford, and assessed that the difference between the two games was that the Red Devils played better in the first half against Liverpool than they did in the first half against Brentford. 

He said, “I think it's a huge difference in Brentford. We were 4-0 down at half-time, so we started the game very bad.

“Today, first half, I think we were the better team. First half, we created the better chances and we had two one-on-ones with the goalie and they hadn't.

“Then before half-time we make one mistake (in terms of) organisation and we concede a goal, so I think we were in the game.” 

Ten Hag also said he was surprised, like many people, at the way his Manchester United team crumbled in the second half, conceding six goals in 45 minutes, after conceding only four goals in their last five matches. 

On the second-half performance, Ten Hag said, “It was really a surprise for me that after half-time we so quickly gave the game away.”

While the loss only cost Manchester United three points, the knock-on effects on the mentality of the players could be a source of worry for Ten Hag after seeing his side lose catastrophically in a derby. 

The Red Devils had been on a run of 11 games without defeat since narrowly losing to Arsenal in January before losing 7-0 to Liverpool and will now need to pick themselves up if they are to reach those levels of performance again.