Ruthless Erik ten Hag hammers Manchester United players after losing pre-season opener

Erik ten Hag laid into his Manchester United players for falling below the standards he expects after losing their opening pre-season game.

United conceded in added-time to lose to Norwegian side Rosenborg, with Ten Hag unimpressed with the performance level of his players.

"The result is not secondary,” said Ten Hag. “Of course, we play in pre-season, but at Manchester United the standard has to be winning games and definitely not to lose games. If you can't win, don't lose the games, but we did in the end, in the last seconds of the game.

“Of course, the performance is more important, but we know the performance was below the standard.

"We can talk and make good on everything that was bad, but I am not that guy. I have seen that this is not the standard for top football.

“In top football, we have much higher standards, and as an individual you must make sure you are fit. I know you cannot be match fit at this moment, so we need these games to get there.

“I know we were playing against players who have a much higher fitness level but still, we are Manchester United and players from Manchester United should perform better."

Watching on from the stands were new CEO Omar Berrada, sporting director Dan Ashworth and technical director Jason Wilcox, with new coaching duo Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake involved in their first game.

Ten Hag picked a side with a blend of experience and youth, his personnel options limited with players absent following their involvement in Euro 2024, with some making their way back from injury and others following individual training programmes back in Manchester.

A core of senior players – Jonny Evans, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Mason Mount, Casemiro and Marcus Rashford – was complemented by youngsters who were given the opportunity to shine in the absence of other established stars.

Radek Vitek started in goal, with Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir not in the squad, and made a string of impressive saves before he was finally beaten at the end.

In the absence of Rasmus Hojlund and new signing Joshua Zirkzee, 18-year-old striker Ethan Wheatley led United's attack, but had few chances, although he tested Rosenborg keeper Sander Tangvik with a shot just before the break.

With Rosenborg midway through their season in the Eliteserien, their superior sharpness and match fitness showed, as they dominated possession and created more goalscoring opportunities.

Rashford's name was cheered the loudest by the 21,450 capacity crowd at the Lerkendal Stadium. But Rashford, deployed on the left of United's attack, endured a quiet 45 minutes. Rosenborg did not hold back, with some robust challenges, notably midway through the first-half, when Tomas Nemcik was booked for an ugly lunge on Casemiro.

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