Ten Hag ‘holds on to philosophy’ despite punishment by City | Football

“It was a reality check. We have to learn from it and continue,” said Ten Hag. “We stick to our philosophy and principles. Sometimes you have to deal with setbacks. We had a bad day on Sunday. City were better and we have to accept that, but we cannot accept our unacceptable performance.”

“We have gained confidence from the previous victories over Arsenal and Liverpool, but now we are back on our feet again. So thanks for the lesson, Pep and City.”

Limited playing time Ronaldo

The limited playing time of Cristiano Ronaldo under Ten Hag was also discussed during the press conference. The Portuguese star player has only made one start in a league game this season and had to watch City again from the sidelines. However, Ten Hag refused to make a link with Ronaldo’s earlier wish to leave the club.

“When it was 4-0 and 6-1 against City, I didn’t bring him in out of respect. That has nothing to do with his future at the club. I don’t see that he isn’t happy. He trains well and likes it here,” said Ten Hag.

Early

Ronaldo will hope that he will be back in the starting line-up of Ten Hag against Nicosia on Thursday, after he also played in the first two group matches. United lost the opening game against Real Sociedad (0-1) and then defeated FC Sheriff (0-2) thanks to a penalty from Ronaldo.

In any case, Ten Hag cannot rely on Raphael Varane in Cyprus, who sustained an ankle injury against City. Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek has been sidelined for some time with an upper leg injury, while captain Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are also not available.

United are in second place in the group with 3 points. Sociedad is in the lead with 6 points, while the scoreless Nicosia is in last place.