‘You are a cow in the a**!’: Erik ten Hag uses a bizarre Dutch analogy to defend that he eliminates Bruno Fernandes and Antony to avoid red cards…
- Manchester United let go of a two-goal lead on Thursday and drew 2-2 against Sevilla on Thursday
- Erik ten Hag took Bruno Fernandes and Antony off the field after seeing bookings
- The Red Devils fell away after Fernandes was substituted in the second half
Erik ten Hag has stuck to his decision to replace Bruno Fernandes and Antony on yellow cards during Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Sevilla in their Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday.
Two late own goals from Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire reversed the Red Devils’ dominance in the first half, nullifying Marcel Sabitzer’s early brace for the hosts.
Manchester United’s collapse began after Fernandes and Antony were substituted, but Ten Hag felt he couldn’t risk the pair picking up second yellow cards.
Ten Hag shared a well-known Dutch saying with reporters during his post-game press conference, insisting that he would be blamed for his decision no matter what.
“We call it where I come from, you look like a cow in the a**,” said Ten Hag. ‘Yes, a cow in the a**.
Erik ten Hag used a bizarre Dutch saying to defend his decision to take out Bruno Fernandes (pictured) against Sevilla – insisting he was ‘watching a cow in the a**’ on Thursday night
The Dutch boss urged him to do the same with Antony (above), who also received a yellow card
‘That’s what we call it in my region from the Netherlands, that’s easy. But when he was sent off, you tell me, ‘Why don’t you get him out? Why don’t you take the risk?’
Ten Hag revealed that he was also told by referee Felix Zwayer that Fernandes was on slippery ice and could have been sent off earlier in the game.
“Because Bruno threw the ball away, the (referee said) would be finished next time,” Ten Hag continued.
“But he saved him because Sevilla did the same in the first half and the player from Sevilla got a yellow card for that.
‘(We were) 2-0 up, we played a good game, so don’t fight your opponents individually, it’s not necessary. You warm up the opponent and risk being sent off. I don’t want to take the risk.’
Fernandes now misses the second leg in Sevilla due to the yellow card.
Ten Hag felt he couldn’t risk the pair getting red cards while his squad was already stretched
United crumbled after Fernandes went off for Danish star Christian Eriksen in the second half
The Portuguese midfielder picked up his yellow card after slipping in to block Nemanja Gudelj’s shot, which saw the ball hit his arm.
Ex-Manchester United star and pundit Paul Scholes told BT Sport: ‘I thought the referee was bad all night. At any sign of a foul, he couldn’t wait to draw his yellow card. Just give a free kick. It wasn’t an intentional handball.’
Owen Hargreaves: ‘It’s a ridiculous decision by the referee. It’s not a yellow card.’
Fernandes could not believe the decision and strongly protested to the referee, perhaps knowing that it would cause him to miss the second leg.
Ten Hag was unable to provide a new update on central defenders Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, who were both injured during the Europa League match.
United’s in-form Portuguese midfielder will miss the second leg after picking up his booking
Fernandes slid in to block Nemanja Gudelj’s shot, causing the ball to accidentally hit his arm
He said, ‘Sorry, it’s not even 24 hours so I don’t have a full diagnosis and can’t say at the moment.
“We have to adapt in the selection, we have to use the selection. We did that yesterday too.
“You need a tactical approach to win the games, and we have good players.”
Manchester United travels to the City Ground on Sunday to take on relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.