March 9th 2024.
The coach of Dutch descent, Erik ten Hag, has expressed his views on Everton's performance against his team, Everton, stating that their abundance of opportunities were not of high quality. Despite Manchester United conceding 23 shots during their match on Saturday, Ten Hag is not worried about their fragile back-line and believes that their style of play is sustainable.
The Red Devils managed to close the gap to fifth-placed Tottenham by three points after securing a 2-0 victory against Everton at Old Trafford. Both goals were scored from the penalty spot, with Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford converting the penalties after fouls on Alejandro Garnacho. However, in the first half, United struggled to control the game and only had 15 shots compared to Everton's 23.
Interestingly, in their last six matches, United has faced a total of 134 shots. Club legends Wayne Rooney and Rio Ferdinand have both expressed concern over the team's porous back-line and open midfield, stating that it cannot provide a consistent platform for a late top-four charge. However, Ten Hag remains unfazed by the shot statistics and instead points to his team's superior Expected Goals figure. He also suggests that his team's tactic is to give up low-quality chances.
When asked about the sustainability of opponents piling up over 20 shots in a match, Ten Hag confidently replied that they have been doing it for a long time and in many more games. He also pointed out that United's xG (Expected Goals) was not significantly high compared to theirs. He believes that Everton's gameplan was to defend low, and his team has players who feel comfortable with this strategy.
Against Everton, United had an xG of 2.56, while Everton had an xG of 1.48. However, United's two penalties accounted for 1.56xG, meaning that Everton actually had a better Expected Goals tally from open play. When questioned about whether teams will eventually start converting the shots United is giving up, Ten Hag refuted the idea, stating that the chances were of low quality. He also praised his team's organization and focus in defending set-pieces, stating that they did quite well overall.
In conclusion, Ten Hag remains confident in his team's style of play and believes that their tactics will continue to be successful. He also highlighted the strong performance of his back four, goalkeeper Andre Onana, and midfielder Casemiro in the match against Everton. Manchester United fans can look forward to more impressive performances from their team under the guidance of Ten Hag.
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