MU continuously received bad news about its force before two important matches in the FA Cup and Premier League this week.
During the press conference before the match between MU and Nottingham Forest in the 5th round of the FA Cup (2:45, February 29), coach Erik Ten confirmed that midfielder Harry Maguire will be absent due to injury. Besides Maguire, duo Bruno Fernandes and Raphael Varane also left the possibility of playing.
“Harry Maguire will not be present. Bruno, Varane leave the possibility of playing open. I will see what I have in hand and then choose the starting lineup. Of course, MU’s goal is still to win,” coach Ten Hag said.
Before that, MU continuously suffered shock from injuries to Rasmus Hojlund (2-3 weeks) and Luke Shaw (12 weeks). If Fernandes and Varane do not recover in time, the number of “sick soldiers” at Old Trafford will currently reach 10 people, besides Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Mason Mount, Anthony Martial.
Obviously, Coach Ten Hag has reason to worry as MU prepares to enter important matches this week. If the FA Cup is the only arena the “Red Devils” still hope to win, the Manchester derby against Man City (10:30 p.m., March 3) also directly affects their chances of competing in the top 4 of the Premier League.
Regarding MU, former midfielder Jamie Carragher recently criticized the defensive ability of the “Red Devils” in the 1-2 loss to Fulham in round 26 of the Premier League. According to the Liverpool legend, MU’s defense is too greedy in both wanting to push high and pressurize while also wanting to retreat deep to prevent counter-attacks:
“I have never seen a defense like MU’s. They like to apply high pressure with a deep-lying formation but that is not possible. They are trying to do two things at once, you can only do one or the other. They have to choose to play high or fall deep to defend.”
In response, Coach Ten Hag said that Carragher’s subjective comments were only intended to criticize MU: “Some analysts make very objective comments and give very good advice, while others have subjective opinions. mandarin.
From the first minute, Jamie Carragher criticized MU and now he wants to express that opinion. Perhaps he was right in the first 30 minutes of the match. Fulham’s midfield surprised us a bit, but then we found a solution.”
