29 October 2023 , 22:46
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Richard Keys has launched another scathing attack on Erik ten Hag and believes it is "scary how bad" Manchester United are, following their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City.
The Red Devils were comprehensively beaten at Old Trafford courtesy of a brace from Erling Haaland and Phil Foden's close-range strike. It's a result that leaves United languishing in eighth and already a mammoth 11 points behind leaders Tottenham in the Premier League table.
United have picked up just five wins from their opening 10 matches and haven't been able to put a sustained run of results together, despite beating Brentford and Sheffield United either side of the international break. And Sunday's drab defeat against City has left them well behind the chasing pack, with fifth-place Aston Villa even seven points ahead of the Red Devils.
Reacting to the loss, Keys took to social media and slammed Ten Hag for his tactics. "£400m later it's scary how bad Utd are," the ex-Sky Sports presenter said on Twitter. "Ten Hag said he had a plan to beat City today. Does anyone know what it was? For sure he'll blame the players for not sticking to it."
Keys' comments come after Ten Hag revealed he had a game plan to try and hurt City. Speaking in his post-match interview, Ten Hag said: "Especially the first half, the game-plan went perfectly. Only the penalty changed the game. The first half, we played very well.
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Erik ten Hag admitted his side had a game plan against Manchester City (Getty Images)"We defended very good, closing the spaces, getting into the press, keeping them away from our own goal. Only one big save by Andre [Onana], they almost didn't create [too much]. We had opportunities, two or three great breaks, but didn't benefit from it."
Meanwhile, this isn't the first time Keys has openly criticised Ten Hag. After losing back-to-back matches against Brighton and West Ham in May, Keys hit out at the Dutchman and questioned whether he has actually improved United since joining from Ajax in 2022.
"Ten Hag spent a record £220m last summer - more than United have ever spent in one window - to take them precisely…..nowhere," Keys wrote.
And he's run out of excuses. There's only so many times you can blame players for being 'unprofessional', or for not 'sticking to the game plan'. That talk all wears a bit thin in a dressing room after a while."
Erik ten Hag cut a dejected figure after the Manchester derby (Getty Images)As for Ten Hag, the United boss admitted his side must react and bounce back from the defeat when they host Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. He said: "When you play against this team, everything has to be perfect. So you don't need help but also you don't want anything against you.
"Today was not our day. We have to accept that but don't forget the game-plan was very good in the first half. It hurts a lot. As you say, losing the derby is horrible. It could have been going a different way but it didn't. Now you have to deal with it. Accept it, how it is, and, in 24 hours, you have to get up and go the next game [Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday]."