Peter Schmeichel disagrees with Erik ten Hag’s “perfect” Manchester United assessment

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel has disagreed with Erik ten Hag’s assessment of a “perfect” first half at Old Trafford.

Erik ten Hag‘s Manchester United fell to derby day defeat as Manchester City claimed all three points at Old Trafford on a Sunday afternoon Premier League fixture.

Erling Haaland (2) and Phil Foden were both on the scoresheet as Pep Guardiola’s men scored three goals to climb back to second in the table, only behind Tottenham Hotspur – leaving United to remain in 8th position after 10 games of the season.

Read More: “They’ve been missing” – Jonny Evans admits Manchester United have key player problem

Speaking after the fixture, Erik ten Hag praised his players for the way the first half panned out, describing their performance as one that “went perfectly”.

“Especially the first half, the game plan went perfectly,” Ten Hag explained. “Only the penalty changed the game. The first half, we played very well. We defended very good, closing the spaces, getting into the press, keeping them away from our own goal.

“Only one big save by Andrè [Onana], they almost didn’t create [too much]. We had opportunities, two or three great breaks, but didn’t benefit from it.”

Peter Schmeichel, however, felt after the fixture that Ten Hag’s assessment was wrong and that the performance in the first half was not how the Dutch manager described it.

“It’s interesting to hear what Erik ten Hag says because when you sit there and watch the match as a fan, I had a different experience than what he describes in his interview,” Schmeichel said.

“I don’t know what his game plan was, I don’t know what he said to the players, but when he says they played a good first half, I don’t agree. He makes a change at half-time, there’s a reason for that because it wasn’t working in midfield.

“Amrabat was so out of rhythm that Man City could do whatever they wanted. And the chances, yes, we had them, but they were all due to Manchester City’s mistakes, it wasn’t like we were creating anything.

“There are other little things, players not playing with each other when they are supposed to pass the ball, runs at the wrong time, little things that make you worry about this Manchester United team.”