Erik ten Hag hails Manchester United recovery after ‘unacceptable’ mistakes - ‘We were very composed’

Erik ten Hag hailed the composure of his side after Manchester United twice recovered from falling behind to beat Sheffield United 4-2 at Old Trafford and claim a crucial three points.

An Andre Onana error gifted The Blades the lead against the run of play in the 35th minute through Jayden Bogle before Harry Maguire headed level shortly before the break.

Ben Brereton Diaz put the visitors ahead again in the 50th minute after he converted Ben Osborn’s delivery but that was as good as it got for the league’s bottom-placed side.

Bruno Fernandes restored parity at 2-2 from the spot just past the hour mark and the United captain completed the comeback in the 81st minute with a stunning curling effort before he turned provider as Rasmus Hojlund put the victory beyond doubt.

It ended a four-match winless run in the Premier League and snapped a streak of dropping points late in games that has plagued them of late.

“[There were] many positives today,” Ten Hag told BBC Sport. “The resilience to fight back after losing two times. But also there were negatives. We gave it away, it can't happen, unacceptable, we have to learn from this.

“But I'm happy with the win and we need to move on.”

The Dutchman added: “Have you seen some panic? No, not at all, we were very composed. We kept making chances throughout the game.”

Once again it was Fernandes who starred for United. The Portuguese midfielder often bears the brunt of the criticism, but he is the club’s top scorer and played a massive role in snatching three points that lifted United above Newcastle into sixth with five games to go.

“He's very consistent,” Ten Hag said. “At the moment he's in very good form.

“We are striving to progress the team. The number of goals we are scoring in this moment is a huge progress. If we have our back four back, then I'm sure we will be more consistent.”

United face Burnley next on Saturday ahead of games against Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Newcastle and Brighton to close out what has been a chaotic campaign.

They precede a highly anticipated FA Cup final against local rivals Manchester City on May 25.

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