Peter Schmeichel is surprised that Erik ten Hag did not roll the dice and “try” out one Manchester United talent against Liverpool at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Manchester United suffered their second consecutive Premier League defeat of the season under Erik ten Hag ahead of the September international break.
The Red Devils kicked off the 2024-25 Premier League campaign with a 1-0 victory over Fulham at Old Trafford, with Joshua Zirkzee scoring a late second-half winner.
However, Ten Hag’s men struggled against Brighton away from home and the Seagulls inflicted a 2-1 defeat on the Red Devils at the Amex last month.
United had another setback on the weekend when Premier League rivals Liverpool arrived at Old Trafford and outclassed and outplayed the Red Devils.
Ten Hag’s side had very little to offer in response to a dominating performance from Liverpool, with Arne Slot’s men comfortably securing all three points at Old Trafford.
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Schmeichel on Man Utd talent and Ten Hag
Luis Diaz fired Liverpool into a first-half lead on Sunday before the 27-year-old Colombian winger doubled the Reds’ advantage before half-time.
Mohamed Salah then added Liverpool’s third in the second half and the Reds cruised to a 3-0 win over Manchester United in the Premier League clash.
Erik ten Hag handed a Premier League debut to academy prospect Toby Collyer after he pulled Casemiro at half-time following a shocking first-half performance.
But United academy talent Ethan Wheatley, who received his first-team debut under Erik ten Hag, was left on the bench as an unused substitute for the defeat.
Speaking on Premier League Productions, Peter Schmeichel believes that Ten Hag should have turned to Ethan Wheatley for an additional attacking option.
“When I hear Ten Hag talk about his idea, he talks about he’s got a plan, there’s a structure and there’s discipline you need to have,” Schmeichel said, as per the Metro.
“Do you see that in the team? I don’t see it. I haven’t seen it for a while. I don’t understand it.
“We’re 3-0 down, you’ve got a young lad [Wheatley] sat there on the bench who has scored a tonne of goals for the youth teams, we’re 3-0 down, why not put him on?”
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Schmeichel on Wheatley and Man Utd
United summer signing Joshua Zirkzee made his first Premier League start against Liverpool and the Netherlands striker was taken off in the 86th minute of the match.
Christian Eriksen was brought on in place of Zirkzee, but Schmeichel has suggested that United striker Ethan Wheatley should have received the invaluable minutes.
“He takes Zirkzee off, takes the striker off,” Schmeichel continued.
“Why not give him [Wheatley] 10 minutes – what if he scored, what would that do for the next two months for the team, for him?
“That would give him another option as a manager, why not try it out?
“In our time, I was a senior player when you [Paul Scholes] went into the team, we had five young players at the same time in the team.
“And sometimes, yes, it didn’t work, but when it worked. You need to try it out, if you have him on the bench.”
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