Erik ten Hag has denied that Manchester United have a discipline problem after Bruno Fernandes received a second red card in successive games against Porto on Thursday, following the one he received against Tottenham last Sunday and that was eventually overturned by the Football Association on appeal.
Fernandes’s sending-off in the 3-0 defeat by Spurs was the result of a straight red card. United also received five yellow cards during the contest at Old Trafford, with two more being shown to their captain in his native Portugal in midweek, each for a high boot, the second on the central defender Nehuén Pérez as Fernandes attempted to meet a cross close to Porto’s goal as United trailed 3-2 in a Europa League game they eventually drew 3-3 thanks to Harry Maguire’s stoppage-time header.
“The [red] card [against Spurs] is overturned for Bruno. So they acknowledge there was a mistake on Sunday and I would say he was very unlucky against Porto,” said Ten Hag. “He gave everything to make a goal. He was in the right spot, and the player came from the blind side and he didn’t see him. So I wouldn’t address it as undisciplined.”
United raced into an early two-goal lead at the Estádio do Dragão through goals from Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Højlund but conceded twice, to Pepê and Samu, across seven first-half minutes. Ten Hag was asked if this showed an indiscipline of structure. “We have to improve this, for sure,” said the manager. “But also, we can say we are very disciplined, for instance, in the first 25 minutes in our positioning and how we created the chances in the right moment. We speeded up the game. So I would not only address it as undisciplined, but definitely we can improve. So yeah, we will work on this, definitely.”
United conceded a second Samu goal five minutes into the second half before Maguire, having come on as a substitute, rescued a point late on. Afterwards the defender stated that allowing a two-goal lead to slip struck at a mentality issue within the squad. “What is the mental issue?” Ten Hag said. “There is a range, a spectrum of topics and you have to address it right. So this team has the belief that they don’t give up. So they have that range of positive mentality and have a strong mentality. But in some other parts, they have to step up.”
United are at Aston Villa on Sunday with Ten Hag’s job remaining under scrutiny. He believes time is needed for the team to develop and cited the recent arrival Manuel Ugarte, an unused substitute against Porto, as an example. “So the 6 position was one we wanted to sign for this season, but he needs time to integrate,” Ten Hag said of Ugarte. “I know in top football you don’t get time, they have to perform immediately, but that’s not always realistic. He has to get used to our game model, to his teammates, to the intensity of the Premier League.
“We have other positions where we need time. But I’m very pleased with the return of Rasmus Højlund. We couldn’t play him in the first two months of the season. Hopefully he is now fit. He keeps improving in his fitness levels and if he has a consistent fit season that will help us.
“There are more areas where we will improve, definitely. And then we will see where we will end at the end of the season.” Ten Hag brushed off questions regarding his position at the club. “I’m not thinking about such issues because that is not a topic,” the 54-year-old said. “We are in this together. The ownership, the leadership, the team, the staff.”
Kobbie Mainoo did not travel to Porto because of injury and remains a doubt for the trip to Villa Park. “We have to wait and we have to see if he can play on Sunday,” said Ten Hag. “If he’s fit enough to start or be on the bench.”
