Manchester United's chances of reaching the Champions League took a potentially fatal blow in their 3-3 draw with Galatasaray last night, with many of their issues being very much of their own doing. Erik ten Hag would have been thrilled with their start to the game, but the way they twice have up a two-goal lead will come as a massive concern.
Collapses such as the one we saw last night have been the story of the this season's European campaign up to this point. This is the third game out of five that they have given up a two goal lead, conceding 14 goals in total across the group so far.
Of course, quite a few of those goals have come down to mistakes from Andre Onana. That was the case once again last night, with the goalkeeper being at fault for at least two of the strikes they conceded in Istanbul.
"What on earth is the Man Utd goalkeeper doing there?!" 😳
André Onana will not want to watch that one back as Hakim Ziyech's set-piece pulls another one back for Galatasaray!#UCL pic.twitter.com/o0R7vzaCdO— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 29, 2023
Those mistakes could well cost them dearly. Manchester United will now need to beat Bayern Munich in their final group fixture and hope that Galatasaray and Copenhagen draw in their meeting in order to advance to the knockout rounds.
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Peter Schmeichel not convinced by Erik ten Hag comments
Erik ten Hag has received a huge amount of backing since his appointment as Manchester United manager. That not only applies to the amount of money he has spent, but also the type of players he has brought in.
Looking at the club's transfer business over the last 18 months, it is clear that the Dutchman has had the final say on who the club recruited. He has brought in a number of players he worked with in the Dutch league, quite a few of whom have failed to meet expectations.
Andre Onana is the latest example, with United forking out over €50million to sign the former Ajax goalkeeper from Inter. Since then, he has made a number of high profile errors.
In saying that, his manager has been hesitant to place any blame on the player. The latest example came after last night's game.
Speaking on CBS Sports with Peter Schmeichel, Erik ten Hag blamed the side's collapse against Galatasaray on team errors as opposed to individual ones. It was some that the Dane did not quite buy.
"You have to defend better, it was poor defending as a team."@Pschmeichel1 caught up with Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag after their "disappointing" 3-3 draw in Istanbul. 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/WtglwTllV1
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) November 29, 2023
Schmeichel: You've just come out of the dressing room, it was 3-1 but you got it to 3-3, what is the overriding feeling right now?
Ten Hag: Disappointing. I seen a performance where we did many things very good, but if you are twice leading 2-0 and 3-1, you have to defend better. It was poor defending as a team, so we should have done that better.
Schmeichel: You say poor defending as a team, I actually have the impression that the defence worked well today and defended well, but it was mistakes by individuals (that cost them). Are you now worried that you don't have the right kind of players to take the team to where you want to be?
Ten Hag: No, we know we are in a project. We have to learn from this and take it from here. It's all very positive, how we can play and how we can perform, to which levels we can achieve. But football is a game of mistakes and details make the difference. We made some mistakes as a team, some details, but we got punished for it.
Peter Schmeichel was certainly not convinced by the answer from Erik ten Hag, but even he danced around the issue here. By asking about worries the manager may have about having the 'right kind of players', it seems clear he was implying that the decision to buy Andre Onana may have been a mistake.
Manchester United needed to move on from David De Gea last summer, with a ball-playing goalkeeper always likely to be a priority. Onana has that in his game, but he has always been inconsistent with the other skills that are needed to be a top class goalkeeper.
Erik ten Hag knew that, having worked with him at Ajax. He will be hoping that this signing does not turn out to be the latest expensive mistake he has made during his time at Old Trafford.
SEE ALSO: Paul Scholes Hits Nail On The Head On The Big Problem With Andre Onana At Man United
