While manager Erik ten Hag is disappointed with Manchester United’s 4-2 defeat to Cadiz, he says he will not get hung up on the result.
The Reds were beaten at the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla after conceding two goals in each half, as Erik used the fixture as an opportunity to rotate his squad.
Despite Anthony Martial’s first-half penalty and Kobbie Mainoo’s deflected effort after the break, goals from Carlos Garcia, Anthony Lozano, Ruben Sobrino and Tomas Alarcon meant United succumbed to defeat, in the first match of our winter training camp in Spain.
After the match, Erik expressed his disappointment in the way his side started the match.
“It is quite clear. We were not awake, still sleeping, [in] first 15 minutes,”
he said in a post-match interview with MUTV’s Ben Ibson and former Red Danny Webber.
“They are a threat in transition. We have seen, the second goal can’t happen. We [were] not awake in the defence but also in the midfield we got ran off. It’s not possible [and] it’s not acceptable.
“After that, we came into the game and got a penalty. I think it was a clear one and I think maybe the second half [we] deserved another penalty, but the first one was a clear one. We came in the game, but we couldn’t make the equaliser before half-time.”
In the second period, Ten Hag introduced a number of young Reds to senior football, most notably Mainoo, who brought United level just minutes after the restart.
Erik says that the younger players bring great “energy”
to his side, and learned a lot from the 45 minutes they were on the pitch against La Liga opposition.
“They gave energy,” he said of the young Reds. “They run; they fight.
“Maybe not always in the right organisation, [so] they make mistakes [because] they are not used to playing in this level. It was a good lesson.
“You see that if you make small mistakes, they have big consequences and that’s what happened.”
Despite his frustrations at the overall performance of his side, Ten Hag says he will “draw a line”
under the match against Cadiz, and use it as motivation to improve.
“The first 15 minutes cannot happen,” he said. “That is not our standard and that should not happen.
“We’ve spoken about [the performance and] we’ll do it tomorrow, again, but then we have to strike it, draw a line and then move on. But it can’t happen in the future.”