Erik ten Hag insists Coventry City benefitted from Manchester United’s ‘curse’ as the Championship outfit took his team all the way to an FA Cup penalty shoot-out.
Ten Hag’s side were in total control of the game, with a 3-0 lead seemingly having done for the Sky Blues. However, an Ellis Simms goal unsettled United, who rocked further when Callum O’Hare made it 3-2.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was then adjudged to have handled a cross in the final minute of added time which gave Haji Wright the penalty to equalise. United would go on to survive a disallowed goal from Victor Torp to win the shoot-out 4-2 – but that has not stopped the avalanche of criticism which has been aimed at ten Hag and his players.
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However, the Dutchman came out fighting after the game, denying that his team’s display had been an embarrassment and pointing both to the number of injuries which saw him name a youthful bench – and yet more refereeing decision going against him.
He agreed with his defender Harry Maguire that the ruling against Wan-Bissaka was both harsh and the latest in a succession of unfavourable rulings - such as the one when Sky Blues' Bobby Thomas was not deemed to have handled late on.
“You need the tools to manage this, with all the injuries we don’t have so many tools, we don’t even have a back four in their best positions," he said.
"On that part I have to give the team a compliment, the players managed that, they were in a position that is not in their best. They gave 100%, which they should, but it’s not always easy to play the best football when you’re not in your best position.
"No, I can’t see that [embarrassment]. At the end of the day, it’s about achievement. I see the mistakes we make, but it’s not an embarrassment, it’s a huge achievement. Given a big team from United a decade ago they achieve final three times, now it’s two times in two years, that with all the setbacks, even today, at 3-3 it’s crazy.
"Then we should get a penalty to make it 4-3, that was more a handball than the penalty we conceded. That happens many times. Chelsea, two crazy pens, Liverpool, penalty very debatable. It’s like a curse against us. We’ll take energy from this, we have to build the confidence."
