Erik ten Hag agrees with Roy Keane comments following Manchester United loss

Erik ten Hag has agreed with Roy Keane’s sentiments following Manchester United’s penalty loss to Manchester City at Wembley Stadium.

After mixed pre-season results, Manchester United lost on penalties against Manchester City after a 1-1 draw in the Community Shield at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Despite the result, Erik ten Hag‘s men played very well. The side created multiple chances for Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, and Scott McTominay before Alejandro Garnacho netted the opening goal with 10 minutes to play.

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Unfortunately, Bernardo Silva was able to overpower makeshift right-back Facundo Pellistri with just two minutes of normal time left to play, sending the game to penalties, in which City emerged victories.

However, there are plenty of positives to take from the result, such as United’s chance creation, style of play, and the individual performances of returning players like Lisandro Martínez and Kobbie Mainoo.

Speaking after the result, Ten Hag said that it is a tough result to take following the side’s positive performance.

“It is a tough result to take,” he admitted to ITV following the penalty shootout. “When the performance is right, when you lose, everyone feels this.

“It hurts in your stomach. You have to feel pain, and we have to hurt. We have to take this belief into the league.

He continued: “We managed to be on an equal level with Man City and got [Marcus] Rashford high on the pitch and good defending. We created chances, we got pressure in the ball and in possession, we had some very good chances from this, so there are many positives we can take.”

This is in agreement with former United captain Roy Keane, who explained that he liked what he saw from his former club at Wembley Stadium, honing in on the point surrounding taking the play into the Premier League.

“I did like the signs today,” Keane explained on ITV. “If the better players stay fit you would surely expect Manchester United to challenge for the top four.

“The key is to do it week in and week out.”

United will face Fulham on the opening day of the season, Friday, 16 August, at Old Trafford. After finishing eighth in 2023/24, the club will want to get back to winning ways and start the season strong.

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