Erik ten Hag thinks Man Utd ‘got lucky’ in Premier League win over Bournemouth

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was not entirely happy with his team’s performance despite seeing the Red Devils beat Bournemouth 3-0.

• Man Utd beat Bournemouth
• Join Newcastle on 35 points
• Ten Hag not wholly satisfied

WHAT HAPPENED? Man Utd made it six wins in a row in all competitions on Tuesday with a 3-0 victory over Bournemouth. Goals from Casemiro, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford saw the Red Devils move level on points with Newcastle in third place in the Premier League table. Ten Hag spoke about his team after the match and insisted his players could have done a lot better.

WHAT THEY SAID: “I’m happy with the result. Today it was not our best game. We have to be honest, we didn’t play that smart as a team. We made great goals, but at times we were quite lucky, and some great saves from David [de Gea]. We could have been smarter as a team,” he told BBC Sport. “There were big spaces at 2-0 up, sometimes we have to keep the ball and recognise when to go for goal. That is the next step. It is always good to win 3-0. It was a great performance for the crowd, with scoring opportunities for both goals. To win 3-0 is always good.

AND WHAT’S MORE: Man Utd now head into an FA Cup clash against Everton on Friday night and Ten Hag is expecting a tough match despite the Toffees having won just one of their last 10 league games.

“We have to go from game-to-game. The next game is a cup one, but we want to win every game. That has to be the approach,” he added. “We don’t want to look any further, focus on that, it will be a tough game. We need every energy in the preparation and when we kick off on Friday night.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Ten Hag may not be completely satisfied by his team’s performance but he can have few complaints about their recent form. The Red Devils have won four Premier League games in a row and have now kept three consecutive clean sheets. Tougher tests do await with defending champions Man City and league leaders Arsenal up next.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

WHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD? Ten Hag’s side play Everton in the FA Cup on Friday and then face Charlton in the League Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday, January 10.

SOURCE: www.goal.com