What Erik ten Hag said to Man Utd players in dressing room at full-time after 0-0 draw at Anfield

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Erik ten Hag had a message for his Manchester United team following the 0-0 draw against Liverpool at Anfield.

Manchester United came into the game at Anfield as the firm underdogs with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool looking like they were back in the title picture after a year absence.

However, Erik ten Hag’s United defended resolutely throughout and thoroughly deserved a point and it could be argued that the Red Devils had the better chances with Rasmus Hojlund missing a golden opportunity to open his Premier League account as he was denied by Alisson.

It was certainly a step forward for the Red Devils and it’s easy to see why Ten Hag was so pleased with the performance.

Ten Hag’s message

Speaking after the draw at Anfield, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News, Ten Hag was asked what he told his players after the draw in Merseyside.

“I said that after the game in the dressing room: I’m very proud of this team,” Ten Hag said. “We should do this more often. I said this.

“For instance, Newcastle was also a tough game, we made one mistake, we switched off and conceded the goal. But when you stay in the game, when you are disciplined in your game plan, finally it opens up and you can take your chances or get two, three, four passes in after the ball regains, get the switches in and then you can really be more dominant in the game.

“We mentioned [the 7-0] but I said to them last year we played them three times, we lost one time but we beat them two times. We are capable of beating Liverpool and we proved today we are capable of if we bring this every game on the pitch.”

Positives to take

As Ten Hag mentioned, going forward this has to be United’s game plan when they go away from home against the big opposition, going toe to toe with these sides is not a wise move.

With Aston Villa coming up soon, who are in a Champions League spot under Unai Emery, it will be interesting to see how the Red Devils line up for that vital clash.

This has to be a positive step for the Red Devils with Raphael Varane, in particular, proving he can line up on the left for United.