Erik ten Hag jumps to the defence of struggling striker Anthony Martial after the Frenchman is booed off by the Old Trafford faithful during shock loss to Bournemouth

11 months ago 47

Anthony Martial managed just one shot and had the lowest amount of touches
Manchester United were soundly beaten 3-0 by Andoni Iraola's transformed side
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By Max Carter Keall For Mailonline

Published: 10:24 GMT, 10 December 2023 | Updated: 10:24 GMT, 10 December 2023

Erik ten Hag has jumped to the defence of his French striker Anthony Martial after he was booed off during Manchester United's 3-0 loss to Bournemouth.

United suffered an embrrassing defeat at Old Trafford on Saturday as Andoni Iraola's side extended their unbeaten run to five games.

Dominic Solanke, Phillip Billing and Marcos Senesi all scored to pile further pressure on boss ten Hag.

The United boss has struggled to get his side playing consistently, with the team and individual players blowing hot and cold.

As a result the Dutchman has spoken about Martial after the striker produced a lacklustre performance on Saturday, managing just one effort on goal and recording the fewest touches of any starter.

Anthony Martial was on the periphery of the game against Bourneouth and was subbed off in the second half

Erik ten Hag is facing increased pressure as Manchester United manager after a number of inconsistent performances

Martial managed the fewest touches of any starter on Saturday, and struggled to impose himself on the game

Martial was substitued in the 55th minute for Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund, and was met with boos as he trudged off the pitch.

This was the second time this season the Frenchman has been booed by his own fans, having also met jeers when coming on against Brighton.

Ten Hag insisted: ‘Two weeks ago against Everton he played a very good game!

‘So he has absolutely the competencies and the abilities to play so I don’t think it’s fair, after a performance like this, to go to one player now. As a group we failed, altogether.’

The Red Devils boss continued to speak about his side's performance as they head into a difficult run of fixtures.

United play Bayern Munich on Tuesday in a must-win Champions League game before travelling to Anfield to take on Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool.

Ten Hag reflected: ‘As a squad, I think we are not good enough to be consistent and we have to work as a squad to improve that.’

‘As a group we have to improve, that’s a fact. We have to get tougher and that we are ready for the game from the start.

‘I said it on Friday, in this league, it can’t be that you are not playing on the highest levels because you get killed – and that is what happened in the first five minutes.'