- Douglas Luiz celebrated immediately in front of Raphael Varane after the equalizer
- Erik ten Hag admitted that this could have prompted his players to bounce back
- CHRIS SUTTON: Erik ten Hag is still on trial. He needs more than gradual improvement this season to keep his job It’s all Kicking Off podcast
Erik ten Hag admitted Douglas Luiz’s shimmy celebration may have pushed his Manchester United players to beat Aston Villa and close the gap in the race for the top four.
The Brazilian started his routine for Holte End when he canceled out Rasmus Hojlund’s opener in the second half. But it also seemed to go straight towards Raphael Varane, who held out his arms in protest.
When Scott McTominay headed United’s winner in the 86th minute, Varane headed for Luiz and the confrontation between the two players only ended when referee Rob Jones intervened.
Former United favorite Rio Ferdinand then poked fun at the Villa man on social media, posting a photo of Luiz doing his shimmy with the caption: ‘Are you OK?’
Ten Hag tried to be more diplomatic, but admitted that celebration may have “fueled” his players.
Erik ten Hag admits Douglas Luiz’s shimmy celebration for Raphael Varane may have fueled Man United’s victory over Aston Villa
Ten Hag admitted he wasn’t sure, but said the celebration might have been ‘invigorating’ for the players
Your browser does not support iframes.
“I have no opinion about that,” said the United boss. ‘I haven’t spoken to the players. Maybe it’s fuel, I don’t know.
‘I don’t think it’s important. It’s about us, we have to think about our game and not about the opposition.’
Ten Hag was frustrated that United did not do more to close out the match after taking the lead in the first half through Rasmus Hojlund.
“I liked the way we did it. I especially liked the first twenty minutes, when we had the match under control. But when we scored, we changed our mentality. As far as I’m concerned, you should keep playing.
‘It was too much like a tennis match, we had problems on the counter-attack. It was so open and it could have gone either way, but we found the mentality and character to win the game.”