Ten Hag reacts to first draw as United boss
Erik ten Hag was pleased with his Manchester United team's performance in the 0-0 draw with Newcastle United, even if he did feel a sense of frustration that two late chances went begging.
The Reds were fortunate when Joelinton hit the woodwork twice in quick succession but must be aggrieved Jadon Sancho was not awarded a penalty when he was brought down by Sean Longstaff.
Much of the goalmouth action happened towards the end, though, with Fred unable to convert a Marcus Rashford cut-back, before the latter headed a Casemiro centre the wrong side of the far post at the death.
Check out what the boss had to say in his post-match interviews...
Ten Hag happy with performance, but not result
Erik ten Hag had mixed reviews for his team, following the goalless home draw with Newcastle United...
PHYSICAL TEST
"We are disappointed we didn't win as the performance was good. A clean sheet, we pressed well from the front to the back and we controlled it, I think. I thought we were good on the ball in stages, especially the second half. We were a little bit erratic in the first half. You see a physical team as Newcastle, we matched them, at least. In the end, we could have won and we deserved to win. It's a big compliment to the team that we could deserve this with a physical performance against maybe the best physical team in the league. When you can deliver this, you keep going."
PLUS POINTS
"All details, the pressing was even better in the second half and, especially on the ball, we were better and more composed. We beat them in the midfield and we created chances. They gave everything they had, individually and team-wise and deserved winning because we created the chances. We missed two huge chances - we could, and should, have scored the winning goal. It was a good run by Rashy for Fred and the last one was a good cross by Casemiro and Rashy had to score."
RASHFORD'S LATE CAMEO
"Yeah, he created two good chances. The first, a good move in the back, and the second a header. He had an impact, that is what I expect from players who come in from the bench. We decided to get freshness in the team and I think that worked out really well."
REFEREEING DECISIONS
"I don't have a comment, everyone has seen it. You can try [asking] but everyone has seen the game. Everyone has seen the game and it is your job to judge the performance from the team and from the referees. Not me, I will not do it."
Ten Hag's post-match press conference
Erik was asked about refereeing decisions, Eriksen, Ronaldo and more in his media briefing...
MENTAL APPROACH RIGHT
"In the end, it was the physical and then the mentality. How we kept going. We gave them cramp because we made them run when we were on the ball, because our pressing was good. In the end, we broke them but didn't kill them by not scoring. So I'm pleased with the performance but disappointed by the result."