Jamie Carragher slams Erik ten Hag’s tactics after dismal defeat to Fulham

Jamie Carragher was heavily critical of Manchester United as he pinpointed a number of problems from Erik ten Hag’s side.

The Reds suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Fulham on Saturday which saw our unbeaten run in 2024 end abruptly.

Marco Silva’s side took the lead through Calvin Bassey before Alex Iwobi scored a stoppage time winner just munutes after Harry Maguire’s equaliser.

As a result, United now sit four points adrift of Tottenham in the Premier League and eight behind fourth place Aston Villa.

However, a number of telling statistics about the team and it’s dismal performances are beginning to attract attention from pundits.

In each of United’s last five top-flight matches, Ten Hag’s side have conceded in excess of 15 shots – with West Ham and Luton Town exceeding 20.

Former Liverpool defender turned Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher highlighted several areas of concern for United during Monday Night Football’s analysis.

Carragher said: “I want to highlight (Kobbie Mainoo), who has been fantastic since he came in, but the problem I have – it’s not a criticism of him – what are his instructions before the game?”

“This is straight from kick-off, he is not sure whether he should close down the holding midfield player or looking at the number 10, he’s caught, straight from kick-off – you should know your jobs straight from kick-off and that’s down to the coaching staff.

“Twenty seconds into the game against Fulham, it’s been the problem for Manchester United all season, there’s space between the back four and the midfield. We go to the reason why they’re poor defensively and can’t cope with counter attacks, they’ve got no space qat the back and a lack of legs in midfield.

“People say: ‘there’s no patterns of play at Manchester United, how do they play and what’s the philosophy?’ I’ll tell you why there’s no patterns of play and why they get done on the counter-attack, the positions they find themselves in. When Varane is on the ball, you’ve got you right-back, he can’t receive a pass, Mainoo – your central midfield player – he’s on the last line, that can’t be right – it’s not right.

“Bruno Fernandes, on the last line, playing like a striker, he’s a number 10, Victor Lindelof can’t receive the ball, the players can’t receive the ball in the positions they pick. There’s a massive problem for Manchester United when they’re on the ball… how many times do you see players running back 40 yards towards goal.”

"Manchester United defend like a team I've never seen before" 🤬

A scathing review of Manchester United's defending from @carra23 and Gael Clichy 👇 pic.twitter.com/XPqKyDgJ6e

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) February 26, 2024

Footage courtesy of Sky Sports

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