Erik ten Hag’s choice to start Anthony Martial in favour of Rasmus Hojlund has drawn criticism from Peter Schmeichel, who believes that the Frenchman’s lack of effort cost Manchester United in their 3-3 draw with Galatasaray.
Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes gave the Red Devils a two-goal lead early on in Istanbul, but Andre Onana’s mishandled free kick caught him off guard.
In the second half, Scott McTominay gave United a two-goal lead again, but Onana let another Ziyech free-kick get past him before Kerem Akturkoglu’s powerful strike levelled the scores.
Schmeichel criticised Onana for his costly errors, but he also thought Ten Hag changed the game by benching Hojlund in favour of Martial, since the latter’s lack of urgency allowed Galatasaray to take the lead.
In my opinion, the back four performed admirably today. They couldn’t have done much more, in my opinion, Schmeichel told CBS Sports.
“I thought they played well, but once more, there’s no denying that the goalie made some really costly mistakes.”
“It is a goal, a fact of life, every time a custodian makes an error.”
Upon further reflection, I believe that everything went incredibly well on Sunday. However, you have to understand that every tiny error you make at this level will cost you points.
“You kill the game” when you’re ahead 2-0, and this isn’t the first time we’ve led in this tournament.
You have to guard the ball and avoid making mistakes, and today there were enough of them.
Of course, you also need to consider players like Hojlund, who relieved a lot of the strain from the very front.
“Whereas before you had someone who works really, really hard for the team up front, all of a sudden you don’t have that pressure,” Ten Hag said of the new hire who accomplishes nothing.
And that makes it very easy for the opposing team to pass the ball around.
There are a tonne of options to consider, but once more, you should anticipate receiving more than one point if you score this many goals.
