Erik Ten Hag And Christian Eriksen Blame Manchester Derby Mauling On Lack Of "Belief" And "Courage"
Manchester United were mauled 6-3 by Manchester City because they lacked belief and courage.
That is according to United manager Erik ten Hag and midfielder Christian Eriksen.
United were overwhelmed by City, who led 4-0 and 6-1 before Anthony Martial scored two late goals to add a trace of respectability to the final result.
Ten Hag's United had gone into the game in good form, having won their last four matches in the Premier League.
But that good form did not translate to confidence as United crumbled in the presence of Erling Haaland and Co.
Haaland scored a hat-trick for the third EPL game in a row, while Phil Foden also netted three goals.
Antony was the game's other scorer.
Reacting to the game in a post-match interview with BBC Sport, Ten Hag said: "It's quite simple, it's a lack of belief. When you don't believe on the pitch then you can't win games, that is unacceptable.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag pictured on the touchline during his side's 6-3 defeat at Manchester City
IMAGO/PA Images/Martin Rickett
"We get undisciplined at following rules and you get hammered, that's happened today.
"For me it was a surprise. We were not on the front foot, we were not brave on the ball. There were spaces to play but we were not brave enough.
"All the credit to City, but it's nothing to do with City, our performance was not good. It had to do with the belief as individuals and as team.
"From the first minute I felt it and at half-time we changed things and we changed attitude. We saw a different Manchester United after half-time and we scored goals, we created some more. On the ball we were more brave, we came in the opponent's half and we scored three goals.
"In this moment I can't think about positives. We let our fans down, we let ourselves down and we're hugely disappointed."
Eriksen, who had been marking Haaland at the corner kick from which the Norway striker scored City's second goal, told Sky Sports: "It came very heavy.
United midfielder Christian Eriksen pictured at the Etihad Stadium
IMAGO/Action Plus/David Blunsden
"Everyone feels it was a very bad day at the office. We started on the wrong foot. They had chances straight from kick-off. We can only blame ourselves.
"We missed a bit of courage to play out from the back and we let them be at their strength. The main focus from this game will be on ourselves.
"There are a lot of things we need to change and a lot of things we need to do better. Today was far from acceptable from what we should be doing."
READ MORE: Manchester Derby Head To Head: City Now Just Six Wins And One Goal Behind United
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