Erik ten Hag stepped in to boost his struggling Manchester United side as the Red Devils made hard work of beating the Premier League’s basement boys Sheffield United

Erik ten Hag called his players together for a mid-game team talk in what proved to be a timely intervention as Manchester United defeated Sheffield United.

The Red Devils were made to work hard for their win against the Premier League’s bottom side, despite taking the lead through Scott McTominay. But the midfielder gave away a penalty minutes later, which Oli McBurnie converted to equalise for the Blades.

It would take United until the 77th minute to retake the lead, through Diogo Dalot’s curling effort from outside the box. But even before McTominay had broken the deadlock, Ten Hag made a timely intervention to boost his struggling side.

Just over 20 minutes into the game, United ‘keeper Andre Onana went down and required treatment. During that unexpected break in play, Ten Hag called all 10 of his outfield players over for an impromptu team talk.

United went ahead just a few minutes later, with Ten Hag’s pointers clearly helping his side. And match-winner Dalot also insisted that the Dutchman’s team talk played an important role in United’s win.

“It was a good opportunity for us to adapt a little bit because we were not in the right positions, especially without the ball, we had to sort it out quickly. I think we did that straightaway after he called us over,” Dalot said.

Erik ten Hag made a timely intervention to help Manchester United beat Sheffield United ( Image: George Wood/Getty Images)

“This is the type of opportunity that we have to take, sometimes during the game it’s difficult for the manager to get to 11 players but unfortunately with Andre going down we found a way to speak to him.

“We knew it was going to be a difficult game, a difficult pitch, a great atmosphere, my first time here since I arrived to the club. A good game, a proper English game, very physical, a lot of duels, but I’m happy we found a way to win.

“We have to build this momentum and it comes with winning games, three points gives us more confidence to go to the next game with a little bit of momentum, now we want to get the first three points in the Champions League.”

Ten Hag was relieved to see his side come through their difficult test at Bramall Lane. But he also hinted at some frustration that the Red Devils had made such hard work of securing the three points.

“The first half was not our game. We made it their game. Opportune, direct. We made it too direct instead of keeping the ball, passing it round. Keeping them working. We were also very direct and then we lost control of the game,” he said.

“They shouldn’t score, especially in such moments and that has to give confidence and take the ball and let the opponent run. We made some corrections at half-time and I think after half-time it was more the side we want to see.”

Source: mirror.co.uk