Why Erik ten Hag did what he did against Man City

“It was tactical”, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag defends when asked of his decision to pair Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire in defense in the Manchester derby.

Sunday’s premier league match was one to forget for the Old Trafford side as despite Andre Onana’s efforts to keep the task simple, the Manchester United backline were still able to concede 3 goals via strikes by Erling Haaland and Philip Foden.

The score line nothing to right home for the United fanbase, raised a lot of criticisms on Erik ten Hag as a result of selection for the high stake fixture.

Former teammates at Leicester City, Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire were brought in as United’s lifeline in defense to contain a flying front partnership of Haaland and Foden for their City rivals, a job which the game proved both weren’t up to.

However, the Dutch manager has explained the reason behind the confidence to partner Maguire and Jonny Evans instead of World Cup winning defender, Raphael Varane to handle Manchester City‘s strike force.

“It’s tactical. It’s not the argument to make their selection [their experience], it’s tactical and that’s the answer,” Ten Hag explained to MUTV.

The first half of the match saw City taking the lead through Erling Haaland’s penalty, which was awarded after a lengthy VAR review following an incident in which Rasmus Hojlund was deemed to have pulled Rodri’s shirt.

Haaland went on to double City’s lead early in the second half, putting Pep Guardiola’s side on course for a crucial victory at the home of their cross-town rivals.