Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says he is “not Harry Potter” after watching his team collapse at home to rivals Liverpool.
The Red Devils lost 3-0 in front of their own crowd, with Luis Diaz grabbing a brace and Mohamed Salah putting the cherry on top for Arne Slot’s team.
Six of the starting XI were signings made by the Dutchman, but there was no Manuel Ugarte, who was unveiled to the crowd ahead of kick-off.
It was a bad day at the office for Man United, but Ten Hag refused to be drawn into negative reactions.
Speaking after the match, he said: “It is not like I am Harry Potter.
“You have to acknowledge that.
“For three players it was their first start of the season.
“Maybe you can explain to me which mistakes we make?”😳
Things got a little heated between Erik ten Hag and this journalist😬
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“Manuel Ugarte did not play one minute – he needs to build his fitness.
“Then we have to build him into the team. I am sure he will contribute to our team.
“It will take a couple of weeks, maybe even a month. That is the same for a lot of players.”
Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs de Ligt both started against the Reds, as did Lisandro Martinez.
It is very much a Ten Hag team, but he did not react well when questioned about the constant mistakes made during his two-year reign at the Theatre of Dreams.
He added: “I don’t want to talk about positives today.
“This defeat hurts for us and our fans.
“It is the third game of the season. I have had to explain this so many times. We have to build a new team. We will be fine but it is clear we have to improve.
“At the end of the season I am quite confident we will have a big chance to lift another trophy.”
