Ferdinand, Hargreaves slam costly Ten Hag error in Man Utd draw as Spurs defender is singled out
Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves have criticised Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag for his substitutions as the Red Devils threw away a two-goal lead against Tottenham on Thursday night.
The Red Devils raced into a two-goal lead at the break thanks to goals from Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford but the game turned on its head in the second half.
Strikes from Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min got Spurs back on level terms in a 2-2 draw with Ryan Mason’s side looking the most likely to grab all three points near the end.
Fred had a poor evening after replacing Christian Eriksen in midfield on 61 minutes while fellow substitute Anthony Martial failed to make an impact.
Tyrell Malacia and Wout Weghorst were Ten Hag’s final two changes, replacing Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Antony, with 19 minutes to go.
Malacia was at fault for the Tottenham equaliser with former Man Utd stars Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves both critical of Ten Hag’s substitutions.
“United will be disappointed, they will all be trudging into that changing room thinking how did we let that slip,” Ferdinand told BT Sport.
“The first half they totally dominated this Spurs team, a team struggling for confidence and you’ve allowed them back in the game. They will be hugely disappointed.
“I think the substitutions from United saw them relinquish control of the game with the personnel that came on.”
Hargreaves added: “He [ten Hag] felt he needed to make some subs obviously after the game against Brighton on Sunday, the players were tired and he felt he needed to make changes,.
“I think up until about six weeks ago he probably got every sub right. At Anfield he had a couple of moments that didn’t go his way, at home against Sevilla, a couple of subs that didn’t go his way, and obviously today.
“That’s the one thing they need to address is the depth and obviously they will try to do that in the summer.”
Ferdinand was also unimpressed by Eric Dier’s poor defending against Man Utd forward Rashford for the Red Devils’ second goal.
“At no point did Eric Dier make Rashford think, ‘I’ve got something to think about here, I have got to do something unique or different to get by you,’” Ferdinand told BT Sport.
“It was very easy. Rashford showed him no respect and was ruthless.”
Reviewing Spurs’ defending for the second goal, Ferdinand continued: “The Spurs defenders here, they just back off. Get out to the ball, they are running with their hands behind their back, no one taking charge of the situation, no one saying to the forward you have got to do more.
“It is playing it safe and expecting someone else to take responsibility to make a tackle and it is not good enough.”
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