Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag snaps at TNT Sport reporter over 'ridiculous' stat after Chelsea loss - The Mirror

Erik ten Hag was quick to hit back at suggestions his Manchester United defence needed to address major issues as stats were put to him following the loss at Chelsea

Erik ten Hag claimed it was "ridiculous" to use stats to suggest Manchester United's defence needs work - despite them facing a staggering amount of shots on their goal.

Prior to their clash in west London, the Red Devils had the fourth-best defence in the Premier League, with only title contenders Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City shipping fewer. However, Ten Hag's side have faced more than 200 shots since the turn of the year.

On Thursday evening, Chelsea had 28 strikes on the United goal as their backline struggled to halt their opponents. Those numbers were put to the Dutchman, but has he was quick to dismiss the criticism when it was suggested that such a trend was "unsustainable".

The United boss said on TNT Sports : "It is ridiculous. We showed that we ranked fourth [best] for goals conceded before tonight, and everyone is talking to each other [about the shots] after. We are good, and we have good defending as a team and a good goalkeeper so I cannot do nothing."

United conceded two early goals at Stamford Bridge before they fought back to lead 3-2. However, a 99th-minute penalty allowed Cole Palmer to equaliser and the Chelsea playmaker then capitalised on some slack defending to pick the ball up from a corner before his deflected effort won the contest.

Despite their collapse in stoppage time, Ten Hag was adamant that his visiting outfit were the dominant side in the capital. He also bemoaned the late penalty - Chelsea's second of the night - which was given against Diogo Dalot.

"Yes we started poor, kicking the ball away and defending poorly," he said. "But you saw we were dominating the game and it was brilliant how we played – we deserved to win the game. But, you cannot give it away like we did and we have to manage this game better.

"It is a team performance, you can point to one of the players but it is about team performance. When it gets chaotic you have to deal with it as a team and we made the wrong decisions and we didn’t help out as a team. Out of possession we made bad decision – a lack of concentration. Also, I think unlucky at the end with the penalty situation, questionable and very soft but we have to do better."

Ten Hag's hopes of delivering Champions League football were dealt another blow as they failed to capitalise on Aston Villa's loss 24 hours earlier. It means they and Tottenham still hold notable points leads over the Red Devils.

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