Ten Hag admits Man Utd ‘can be better’; Onana had ‘very good debut’ vs Wolves despite pen scare

Jason Soutar 15 Aug 2023 6:50 AM

Erik ten Hag shouts at his team during a match.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag insisted that his side have to play better going forward after edging past Wolves on Monday evening.

Raphael Varane scored the only goal of the game in the Red Devils’ Premier League opener at home to Gary O’Neil’s men.

United were second best on the night and were also saved by VAR at the end when Andre Onana got away with a brutal challenge on Wolves striker Sasa Kalajdzic in the penalty box.

Ten Hag accepted that his players were poor on the night but was high in praise of Onana, who had a “very good debut”.

“It can be better,” Ten Hag told BBC Sport. “We can play better. But we’re very pleased with the win.

“The opposition were dynamic. We have to match that. We had to fight for our points.

“There is no easy game in the Premier League and definitely not Wolves. They’re a tough team and we did really well. You have to fight in every gmae.

“We hope we’ll be better on the ball in the next game.”

On Onana, the Dutch manager said: “He had very good saves, was very calm, very good debut.

“After the opponent touched the ball he dived in so it was the judgement of the officials and lucky for us no penalty. I think you can debate it but I think no penalty.”

Ten Hag added to Sky Sports: “I think we matched the runs, the clean sheet tells that. We played organised but now we have to be better on the ball.

“We gave the ball away too easily. But we got a clean sheet and three points.

“At half-time the message was to be more calm, composed, get more switches in. Get in between the lines more, which we did and caused problems. When they broke we had to match the runs [from the strikers], and you lose that control.

“The creativity was not so good because we gave the ball away too easily.

On Wolves’ penalty appeal, Ten Hag said: “It is difficult. The keeper was brave to come out to meet the ball. The ball was touched before Andre [Onana] dived in, so he did not influence the touch [attempt] from the Wolves player.

“The VAR checked it and said no penalty.”

Match-winner Varane said: “Very happy. It was a tough game against a very good team. It’s a good start to the season, three points, clean sheet.

“It’s a good start for him [Onana]. We need time to build that connection on the pitch which is normal. He’s a very good player so he’ll help the team this season.

“The team spirit is already good but we want to improve. We want to be tough and hard to beat. We have to be connected on the pitch and aggressive. We did well. We can improve with the ball, more control, more calm.”

Manchester United Bruno Fernandes