Erik ten Hag believes Manchester United’s added-time capitulation at Chelsea will make them “mad and angry” for Liverpool’s visit on Sunday.
United led 3-2 as Thursday’s game entered the 99th-minute before a Cole Palmer penalty and the same player’s 101st-minute strike gave Chelsea victory. The defeat leaves United 11 points behind fourth-place Aston Villa and nine from Tottenham in fifth.
Liverpool will start the weekend as leaders by two points, with eight matches left. United knocked Jürgen Klopp’s side out of the FA Cup last month and beat them at Old Trafford in the league last season. Ten Hag was asked how a third win could be achieved.
“First I have to deal with this,” he said of events at Chelsea, “but we can’t deal with this for long. We have to recover very quickly. We have to turn this around, so from Friday we will be in a positive mood, looking forwards. We have to take energy. We will be mad, angry and you can take a lot of energy from that and that is the way we have to do it.”
The added-time loss at Chelsea followed the 1-1 draw at Brentford last Saturday that came after United conceded Kristoffer Ajer’s equaliser in the 99th minute. “In stoppage time this week we have dropped five points – it’s very expensive,” Ten Hag said. “The points are getting more expensive because the games are running out and we know that. We have to catch up and we are now many points behind, so it will be difficult.”
The manager took heart from United recovering from 2-0 down at Chelsea to lead until the dramatic twist. “We will keep fighting and I’m sure you see: our team, they have character. We have seen an example today as well. They are resilient and I’m sure they will be there on Sunday, to be in the fight against Liverpool.
“We have qualities. We have great players. We can play very high standards. You see against Liverpool and [Chelsea]. We can compete with, beat, the best teams in the Premier League. When you do it in the Premier League, you can do it across Europe. But we need to learn now how to win games. We have to step up. We have to make better decisions, individually and as a team.”
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Ten Hag dropped Marcus Rashford from the lineup at Chelsea, bringing him on after 66 minutes, but the forward failed to make an impact. “Lately his form is progressing,” Ten Hag said. “He has a big motivation because he wants to be successful with us … He wants to fight for a Champions League spot and the Euros are coming. So his motivation should be high. Before Brentford he scored three goals in three games.”