Erik ten Hag issues scathing Man Utd criticism after pre-season defeat

Erik ten Hag admitted Manchester United's performance fell short of expectations as their pre-season campaign started with a defeat to Rosenborg on Monday afternoon.

The Red Devils conceded in second-half stoppage time in Norway after the likes of Marcus Rashford, Casemiro, Mason Mount, Jonny Evans and Aaron Wan-Bissaka featured in the opening 45 minutes.

Goalkeeper Radek Vitek was called into action frequently against the Eliteserien outfit, who earned the victory when Noah Holm smashed in seconds from full-time.

Speaking after the game, Ten Hag said: "The result is not secondary. But of course we play in pre-season, but at Manchester United the standard has to be winning games and definitely not to lose games. If you can't win don't lose the games but we did in the end, in the last seconds of the game.

"Of course the performance is more important but we know the performance was below [the] standard.

"We can talk and make good on everything that was bad, but I am not that guy. I have seen that this is not the standard for top football. In top football we have much higher standards, as an individual you must make sure you are fit. I know you cannot be match fit in this moment, so we need these games to get there. I know we are playing against players who are already going in their lead, they have a much higher fitness level but still we are Man Utd and players from Man Utd should perform better."

The fixture was United's first of pre-season and they will be back in action on Saturday when they battle Scottish giants Rangers at Murrayfield Stadium. Further clashes with Arsenal, Real Betis and Liverpool are on the horizon before the Community Shield match with Manchester City in August.

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