Erik Ten Hag has criticized Marcus Rashford’s first-half red card – which the Manchester United coach says “changed everything” for his team to lose 4-3 in Copenhagen in Denmark on Wednesday.
With Rasmus Hojlund having given United a 2-0 lead after 42 minutes, Rashford was shown a straight red card following the intervention of VAR for a foul on Elias Jelert. The English forward caught the Copenhagen player on the shin with the sole of his boot to get sent off by referee Donatas Rumsas, but Ten Hag termed the decision “harsh.”
“The red card changed everything,” Ten Hag said. “We then conceded two goals before halftime that should never have counted—the first was offside, their player was standing in front of André Onana, and the penalty [for the second] was very debatable.
“The red card was harsh. [Rashford] went for the ball, but the referee had such a long time to make it a red card. When you freeze it, it always looks worse. They took so long to make a red card of it.
“I’m very disappointed with the decisions; the game was never meant to be like this. Decisions have to be made; wrong decisions can be made, but three such tough decisions [went against us].”
This defeat sends the Red Devils to the bottom of Champions League Group A, having suffered their third defeat in four games thus far. They must now beat Galatasaray in Istanbul later this month and Bayern Munich at Old Trafford in their final game to have a realistic chance of reaching the round of 16.
But despite having lost nine of their 17 games in all competitions this season, Ten Hag still believes his players will soon get the results they deserve.
“It’s clear. We are very disappointed because we played very well, started the game so well, and had our best minutes of the season,” he said. “But the squad is resilient. The whole season, so many decisions are against us, but every time, there is spirit and fight. We will keep going, and it will turn in our favor.
“Football is a game of mistakes. We didn’t do everything right; even with 10 men, we dictated the game. We didn’t do everything, but we did many things right.”
United will return to action on Saturday when they host Luton Town in the English Premier League and will hope to win this game in order to move up on the log. They currently sit eighth with 18 points—six behind their rivals, Arsenal, who sit fourth.
