Inner Man Live

Erik ten Hag was honest when he talked about Manchester United’s loss to Cadiz. He said that the friendly had more negatives than positives.

The Red Devils started their mid-season tour of Spain with a 4-2 loss to the 19th-place team in La Liga. They were down two goals early and were down 2-1 at halftime. Kobbie Mainoo made it 2-2 right after halftime, but United made 10 changes and put a much younger team on the field for the second half. This gave Cadiz an advantage, and they won easily.

Ten Hag told MUTV after the game, “It’s pretty clear we weren’t awake; we were asleep for the first 15 minutes.” They were a threat during a time of change. We weren’t paying attention during the second goal, and our defence, especially in the middle, let us down. It’s not possible, unacceptable. The first goal, too, was a set piece, bad organization and discipline, and you give up a goal,” he said. “After that, we got back into the game, but we couldn’t tie it up before halftime. We don’t like this game. Even when you lose, there are always some good things, but today there are more bad things.”

Many of United’s best players were still in Qatar for the World Cup, so several players on the edge of the first team got to play in the first half. However, with a few exceptions, most of them didn’t do much to stand out.

Even though there were some great performances and exciting moments in the second half, the experience won out. Ten Hag, on the other hand, was happy with what he saw from the young XI after the break. They run and fight, but they might not always be with the right group. They make mistakes. It taught them that even small mistakes can have big effects.

United’s second and last mid-season friendly is on December 10 against Real Betis. On December 21, United plays Burnley in the Carabao Cup.