Ten Hag highlights his squad's togetherness
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has highlighted his squad's togetherness and desire to stand up for each other, following our win over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.
After an enthralling 90 minutes of Premier League action, the Reds emerged 2-1 victors over Patrick Vieira's side, after goals from Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford.
Casemiro was sent off for United after 70 minutes at Old Trafford, and will now miss our next three domestic outings. But despite the Eagles' best efforts late on, with Jeff Schlupp halving the deficit, the Reds hung on with 10 men to make it an impressive 13 straight home wins across all competitions.
Despite his initial frustrations, Erik was pleased with his side's performance, hailing how United stick together even through the tough moments.
Highlights: United v Palace
Watch two minutes of action as the Reds go up against the Eagles at Old Trafford...
“We played a good game,” Ten Hag began in his post-match press conference.
“We played a brilliant game at a high level for the first 70 minutes until the incident takes place. You see [however] this team stands up for each other, they stand for each other and they don't accept for us when a player can be badly injured.
“That is the way Antony got treated, this team sticks together but he [Casemiro] has to control his emotions. I see two teams fighting each other, I see two teams and one crosses the line and one player is picked out and sent off. That is not right.”
With fellow midfielder Christian Eriksen also missing for a sustained period due to injury and Scott McTominay sidelined, Ten Hag will need to rely on alternative midfield options in our upcoming games, against Leeds, both at Old Trafford and Elland Road, and Leicester City.
New signing Marcel Sabitzer made his debut against Palace yesterday in a brief cameo, and he is likely to be heavily utilised following his deadline-day switch.
Despite Casemiro's red having longer-term implications than just Saturday's game, Ten Hag reiterated the importance of players backing one another out on the pitch, with the Brazilian having reacted following Schlupp's late challenge on compatriot Antony.
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“We get also some warnings of our team reacting like this, you have to do it, you have to protect each other,” Erik added.
“But we want to keep our standards and values at Man Utd and we want to keep them high.
“We can't cross lines but we have to stick together and stand up for each other.”