Erik ten Hag details unique first-half ‘problem’ for Man United vs Barcelona and how he solved it

Erik ten Hag has led Manchester United to the Europa League round of 16, where they will face Real Betis after beating Barcelona over two legs in the round of 32.

The Reds were 2-1 victors at Old Trafford on Thursday evening after drawing 2-2 at the Nou Camp last week.

They did go behind at the Theatre of Dreams, however, but pushed back in the second half to score twice through Brazilians Fred and Antony.

Barcelona’s goal came from the penalty spot as Robert Lewandowski put away the spot kick after Bruno Fernandes committed a soft foul inside his own area.

Although, Ten Hag was not worried about the La Liga champions in that opening half, despite being a goal down.

The Dutch manager instead detailed how his team’s problem was a “lack of belief” in their play. In order to fix this, he introduced Antony, Alejandro Garnacho and Diogo Dalot to the fold as second-half substitutes.

“I don’t think so,” answered Ten Hag when asked on MUTV if he thought the visitors caused United issues. “I think it was a cheap penalty but Bruno [Fernandes] takes the risk, that is different to the approach in the Premier League and we have to get used to it.

“We had chances, twice for Bruno, but Barcelona didn’t create that much or cause us that many problems.

“The problem with us was a lack of belief. In the second half, it was much better. You bring yourselves forward, you bring the subs on with a lot of belief.”

United have had 19 goals scored by substitutes so far this season. That’s the most of any team within Europe’s top five leagues.

Ten Hag recognises the importance of various dynamics within a game and how his changes can be of influence.

“In a squad, you need different profiles and types,” he added when speaking to reporters. “When your time is there then you have to be ready and you come on and contribute to the team.

“You can’t win trophies with 11 in a team, especially not in football nowadays, you need that squad for rotation but also tactically to bring different dynamics into the game.”