Erik ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, has disclosed the halftime message he delivered to spark a comeback, resulting in a 3-2 victory over Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
Within the first 26 minutes, United found themselves trailing 2-0 as John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker scored for Aston Villa at Old Trafford, leading to the home side being booed off the pitch at halftime.
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However, United showcased an impressive performance in the second half, securing a 3-2 win with Rasmus Hojlund scoring the decisive goal following two goals from Alejandro Garnacho.
This victory marked the end of a goal drought for United, breaking a streak of four games without finding the back of the net.
During this period, they were eliminated from the Champions League and suffered a 3-0 defeat at home to AFC Bournemouth.
Ten Hag was delighted after United’s victory over Villa and told Amazon Prime: ‘The atmosphere changed a lot from the first half to the second, but if you look at the first half you are losing because of two set plays, in moments where we were not so focused.
‘I think already in the first half we played quite well, and kept trying and trying.
‘At half-time I said to the team, ‘Keep believing, and keep doing what we did, actually do even more’ – we needed to put more and more pressure on. At 2-1 then when we added pressure you see what happened.
‘I said before the game that we were competitive with Arsenal, competitive with Liverpool so if we play our best we can beat anyone.
‘Believe that, even when you are two-nil down, it doesn’t matter. Keep going, show character, and today they did show we have the personality to do it. I think it was a very good team performance.’
Before the 3-2 victory against Villa, Erik ten Hag faced considerable pressure, and Tim Sherwood advocated for the Dutchman’s dismissal.
