Erik ten Hag explains bust-up with Anthony Martial in fresh Man Utd crisis

03 December 2023 , 13:20

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Erik ten Hag explains bust-up with Anthony Martial in fresh Man Utd crisis

Erik ten Hag has played down his row with Anthony Martial in the wake of Manchester United 's disappointing 1-0 loss at Newcastle.

The Dutchman grew increasingly animated on the touchline at St James' Park on Saturday night as he watched his side slump to their 10th defeat of the season. Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon plundered the winning goal for the hosts after a neat passing move.

Eagle-eyed fans on social media were quick to highlight a clip which seemingly showed Ten Hag and Martial having a shouting match during the game. And while Ten Hag admitted he was more aggressive on the touchline, he refused to dwell on the incident.

When he was asked about it post-match, the United chief insisted: "It's not about Anthony Martial; it's about the team. I try to energise the team and try to get a reaction from the team in this moment. As you see, we had a tough period and when you're coaching, you are a little more aggressive, so that's normal."

While Martial's performance was scrutinised following the match, he was hardly the only Manchester United player to be criticised on social media. Marcus Rashford 's contribution was also questioned by fans and Ten Hag also seemed less than impressed with United's No.10.

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Ten Hag pulled no punches with his overall assessment of the match, either. He admitted that Newcastle were good value for their win and admitted United rode their luck at times.

Join the debate! What did you make of Man Utd's performance v Newcastle? Let us know here.

Erik ten Hag and Anthony Martial (both circled) could be seen arguing with each other during the Newcastle match (TNT Sports)

"We had a tough first half. We said at half-time, we are pleased to be at 0-0 and have to stay in the game," he told TNT Sports. "We had a good comeback in the last part of the game, that's the fight we have to show.

"I'll talk to the team tomorrow about it, the regards are for Newcastle, we'll talk about it and move on to Wednesday. In the end, we stayed in the game, had some good chances from Reguilon, thought we scored a goal which was just offside, so we could have drawn - but you have to say over all Newcastle deserved to win."

United will have a chance to put things right quickly on Wednesday night when they host Chelsea at Old Trafford. They will then entertain Bournemouth before a do-or-die Champions League clash with German champions Bayern Munich next week.

Dan Marsh