Man Utd had a poor match against Rosenborg and lost 0-1 after 90 minutes. This result did not satisfy the Dutch strategist.

The Red Devils began their preparations for the 2024/25 campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Norwegian side Rosenborg, with Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag unhappy with his side’s performance in the game.

Before the match, Ten Hag expected his players to show “strength” and be “hard to beаt” when facing a team currently ranked 11th in the Eliteserien rankings. However, the weak performance did not meet his expectations.

Ten Hag is not satisfied with MU’s performance (Photo: Getty)

In a post-match interview with MUTV, Ten Hag could not hide his disappointment, describing the team’s performance as “not good enough” and pointing out that the result is not the most important thing but the quality of the game.

“The result is not secondary,” said Ten Hag. “Of course we played pre-season but at Manchester United the standard is you win games and definitely don’t lose. If you can’t win, at least don’t lose like we did in the last second of the game. The performance is more important and we didn’t meet the standard.”

Ten Hag also stressed that, despite the opponents being in better shape because they are in the middle of the season, Manchester United’s side need to perform much better. “We can talk about everything bad, but I’m not that person. I’ve seen it and it’s not the standard for top-flight football. You have to achieve much higher standards, starting with any individual, making sure you’re fit.”

Casemiro wears the captain’s armband during the match against Rosenborg (Photo: Getty)

Ten Hag understands that his players need time to get back to their best after the summer break, but he will not accept any excuses for poor performances. Czech goalkeeper Radek Vitek received the most praise for his performance, but that was not enough to cover Ten Hag’s disappointment.

Jonny Evans, who has just signed a new contract at Old Trafford, along with Mason Mount, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Casemiro and Marcus Rashford were in the starting line-up for the game. Hannibal also started from the start, along with highly-rated striker Ethan Wheatley. However, the team’s performance was still not up to the mark.

In the second friendly, Man United will face Rangers of the Scottish Premier League. A win will be a better step for the Red Devils in the coming time.