Erik ten Hag explains how Man United players dealt with Liverpool thrashing ahead of Real Betis clash

Manchester United will be aiming to put things right on Thursday in their Europa League round of 16 fixture against Real Betis after being thrashed 7-0 by Liverpool last Sunday.

After a run of 11 games unbeaten, including dramatic comebacks against Manchester City and Barcelona, as well as a Carabao Cup final win against Newcastle, the defeat at Anfield will go down as a dark day for United, though there is so much to look ahead to with Erik ten Hag in charge.

Speaking on Wednesday ahead of the clash against Betis, Ten Hag said: “We have seen the game. We have to reset and bounce back.”

Ten Hag has led United to 30 wins already in just 42 games in charge, as well as ending a six-year trophy drought. The Dutchman has enough credit in the bank to not come under fire after the previous result. The togetherness of the current United side is strong.

“We are in the same boat. We do it together. We win and lose together. We made a mess on Sunday, and we have to deal with that,” explained Ten Hag.

The 53-year-old is confident his side will kick on from now until the end of the season.

“The players reflected well. We also know in a season; setbacks will always be there. This was a huge setback, clear, but we had a run with 23 games with one loss and that was the second. It had a lot of lessons in it, and it can help us in the future.”

Looking back on last Sunday, Ten Hag said: “We were really below average, especially mentality-wise. We want to win trophies and you have to act different. After Sunday, we got a big lesson, we take it and we have to move on, look forward. Use all the energy and focus on the next game.”

The Europa League is another opportunity for United to pick up a trophy this season, having already lifted silverware at Wembley just over a week ago.

The Reds are also still on course for more domestic silverware, as they face Fulham in the quarter-final of the FA Cup later this month. 

Written by Aadam Haladh.