Chris Sutton slams Erik ten Hag after what happened in Man United loss v West Ham
Chris Sutton says Manchester United “fluffed their lines” as he laid into Erik ten Hag following the penalty incident which allowed West Ham United to claim all three points on Sunday [27 October].
Sutton partnered Robbie Savage on the BBC 606 Football Phone-In [27 October], and called Matthias de Ligt “clumsy” after VAR adjudged the Man Utd defender to have fouled Danny Ings inside the area.
Savage had denied it was ever a spot-kick and has agreed with several other pundits that Julen Lopetegui’s side received a huge slice of good fortune.
“The late penalty at West Ham – it’s never, ever, ever a penalty,” Savage bemoaned.
Sutton responded: “I listened to Erik ten Hag’s interview. Was De Ligt a bit clumsy? He was a bit. But for Ten Hag it’s all the excuses in the world. When is he going to take a bit of responsibility? His team fluffed their lines once again.”
West Ham United rub Manchester United noses in it
For all the stop-start struggles with which West Ham have begun under the reign of Lopetegui, they will take the opportunities presented to them without a second thought.
The Hammers took advantage not just of the Red Devils’ lack of confidence or real spine in their play, but also a refereeing decision with which fans would have seethed had it been awarded against them.
Nonetheless, Jarrod Bowen still had to be up to the task and fired an excellent penalty beyond Andre Onana, still with 11 minutes to go of a hefty helping of stoppage time at the London Stadium.
Lopetegui’s team selection raised multiple eyebrows – notably the persistent omission of Crysencio Summerville, who came on to crucially open the scoring having been shunned in favour of Carlos Soler to replace Mohammed Kudus.
Summerville’s celebration with Kudus on the sideline was poignant, and the events of the second half will hopefully, from an Irons perspective, provide a much-needed catalyst for their head coach.
In other West Ham news, reactions from ex-pros to Diogo Dalot’s shocking miss in East London.
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