Patrice Evra confronts Erik ten Hag in passionate Man Utd debate after Chelsea win
Erik ten Hag was left toasting Manchester United’s victory over Chelsea at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening but was involved in a charged debate with Red Devils icon Patrice Evra
Patrice Evra criticised Erik ten Hag for his “excuses” for Manchester United ’s poor performances over recent weeks.
The Red Devils recovered from their woeful defeat to Newcastle at the weekend with a 2-1 success against Chelsea at Old Trafford. It leaves Ten Hag’s men sixth but only three points behind reigning champions Manchester City - who occupy the final Champions League spot.
Speaking after the game, the Dutchman suggested that his side’s European commitments had led to their performance at St James’ Park. However, Evra was not convinced having seen a much better display against Chelsea.
Speaking on Amazon Prime Video Sport, the former United defender said: “I know you’re protecting your players but we really feel again Newcastle - Newcastle are also playing in the Champions League against PSG.
READ MORE: Amazon deals: How you can watch Premier League matches for free this DecemberREAD MORE: Jose Mourinho's Man Utd gesture proved right as unlikely hero emerges for Erik ten Hag“So I think saying they were a little bit tired is not an excuse and tonight and I’m sorry and I know you won’t comment about it but the players that were on the pitch all of them were like dying for the badge. They were playing as a team.
“I think the start today was a team. It wasn’t one player even McTominay wins man-of-the-match. But I just saw the starting XI, they were the players and were like determined to win and forgive what happened against Newcastle.”
Ten Hag responded to Evra’s claims by saying that he was not looking for an excuse but it was only natural to see a drop-off from his side given the packed fixture list that they have faced. He replied: “I can give always reasons but they are never excuses so it doesn’t matter. You are talking about performance every time again from Newcastle.
What is your take on Patrice Evra's comments? Share your thoughts in the comments below
“We play in that week, three games, two very good games. But then I know we played on Saturday, Newcastle on Sunday. We played on Wednesday, they played on Tuesday. We came back from Istanbul, we have to go away.
“There are always reasons why but that’s still not an excuse to play like we did in Newcastle, definitely not. We can’t take that excuse. We have to perform every time for our fans, every time we have to give our best because good is not good enough, you have to do better.”
Man United will be aiming to make it back-to-back victories this weekend with another home game. They welcome Bournemouth to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
The schedule then cranks up once more for the Red Devils with upcoming games against Liverpool, West Ham and Aston Villa in the Premier League. They also have their decisive Champions League clash against Bayern Munich to navigate.
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