Ten Hag and Fernandes frustrated after 1-1 draw but urged United to move on

By Xorkpe Sosu 5 Min Read

Erik ten Hag blasted his Manchester United side for after being held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace on Wednesday night at Selhurst Park. Bruno Fernandes bemoaned Manchester United’s wastefulness in front of goal.

In the 91st minute, Michael Olise scored a spectacular free kick to give Palace a share of the points, canceling out Bruno Fernandes’ first-half goal that allowed them drop 2 points and fall eight points behind league leaders Arsenal.

The late heroics of Olise ended United’s 10-game winning streak across all competitions, preventing them from moving up to second in the Premier League standings.

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Worst of all, Casemiro will miss Sunday’s crucial trip to the Emirates after receiving a yellow card for a reckless challenge on Wilfried Zaha.

Erik Ten Hag spoke to the media after the draw “We dropped two points. When you’re winning with two minutes to go…

“We have to invest more to get that second goal and then not be in that situation that a lucky moment costs you two points.

“We were 1-0 up. In the second half we had a lot of space to kill them and go for the second. I never saw we really went for the second goal.

“It’s difficult to say (why). I have to criticise my team. Go for the second.”

Ten Hag hesitated to criticize referee Robert Jones or VAR for not awarding United a penalty when substitute Scott McTominay was struck by Chris Richards.

Casemiro will now be forced to miss what may be the most important game of the year this weekend.

Ten Hag, though, cited the 3-1 victory the Red Devils had over the Gunners in September at Old Trafford, which was accomplished without the Brazilian and was the season’s lone league loss for Arsenal.

Ten Hag added: “He’s a really important player for us and a reason we’re in this position. But last time we beat Arsenal without Casemiro. We need to do it again.”

Crystal Palace had the chance to win when Wilfried Zaha ran through with time running down but Aaron Wan-Bissaka, a former teammate, stopped him with an incredible last-second tackle.

Zaha said: “It had to be him! As I ran through, I had a little look back and I saw it was Aaron and I knew. He is the only player who can do those scoop tackles from behind.”

Crystal Palace boss Vieira added: “If it was a different player (than Wan-Bissaka) he wouldn’t catch him.

“That was a tough game against a good side. We needed luck to stay in the game, but we provoked that luck.”

Patrick Vieira on Olise’s magic moment: “It was a fantastic free-kick. You guys can talk about the free-kick and I will look at the other side.”

“He is improving his tactical game out of possession. It’s something that is really important for me.”

Bruno Fernandes spoke to sky sports after the game: “We knew it’s tough to play here”.

“We could have lost the game. We’re not happy with a draw”.

“We should have taken our chances and closed the game. They scored a great goal at the end. Nothing we can do now.

“We have to look forward now. Other games are coming. We’re still doing good things”.

“We’re really disappointed with the result but the next one is close. We have to prepare the game. Not too much time to recover.”

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