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Liverpool legend Steve Nicol has blasted Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag for his comments following their 1-0 loss in a pre-season friendly against Rosenborg on Monday (July 15). Despite it being their first friendly this summer, the Dutchman slammed his side for losing, saying their performance wasn't good enough.
Mason Mount, Marcus Rashford, and Casemiro featured in the Red Devils' clash against Rosenborg. However, they were undone by Noah Emmanuel Jean Holm's winner (90+3'). The hosts dominated the attack with 22 shots, seven of which were on target, compared to United's five (two on target).
Ten Hag was furious with his side's performance after the game. He said (as per journalist Fabrizio Romano):
“The result is not secondary. Our performance as a team is by far not good enough. This is not the standard of top football. We are Man Utd, we should perform better."
Nicol was far from impressed by Ten Hag's assessment. He told ESPN (via HITC):
“Don’t you think he’s got that completely and utterly, one-thousand percent wrong? Coming out and talking like that as if it’s a Premier League game – it’s ridiculous what he’s talking about. He doesn’t know what he’s doing, he’s causing problems already. What he’s saying there, now everybody has their eyes on United. You play it down at this time of the year. It means nothing to lose 1-0 to Rosenborg in July.”
Manchester United will seek to get back to winning ways in their next friendly against Rangers on Saturday, July 20.
Manchester United on the verge of completing €50M transfer for top-rated defender: Reports
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United are about to sign Lille centre-back Leny Yoro. Both clubs have the documents ready for a deal worth €50 million and several add-ons.
Yoro made a name for himself with Lille during the 2022-23 campaign before flourishing last season. The 18-year-old has already made 60 senior appearances across all competitions. He has been compared to Virgil van Dijk and William Saliba due to his defensive prowess. In addition, Yoro was included in the Ligue 1 Team of the Year last season.
Yoro reportedly wanted a transfer to Real Madrid amid interest from Liverpool as well. However, Manchester United have acted quickly to secure the deal. His first medical has reportedly been completed and he will sign a five-year deal valid until June 2029.
This would be Manchester United's second signing of the summer after they announced the signing of Joshua Zirkzee earlier this week.
