Ten Hag: This is our fourth clean sheet of the season; we hardly gave Villa any chances to score

In the seventh round of the Premier League, B Fernandes hit the crossbar, and Dalot made a crucial save in stoppage time, ultimately ending the match with Manchester United drawing 0-0 away against Villa. After the game, Manchester United manager Ten Hag was interviewed by Sky Sports.

Ten Hag said: “This is our fourth clean sheet of the season, and you can see that we have great organization and unity. As a team, we showed good strength and spirit, being resolute and resilient. We hardly gave the opponent any chances; I think their almost only chance came in the final stages of the game with that significant opportunity. Of course, we created some chances, but not many. We hit the crossbar, and Rashford had an opportunity as well; both teams were evenly matched.”

“In the match against Porto, we had a very strong start, performing excellently for the first 25 minutes, completely suppressing Porto. Against Crystal Palace, our ball possession was also outstanding, and there have been some games this season where we played very well. But today, we didn’t create too many opportunities because the opponent was strong.”

“In seven games, we have created many opportunities, but we need to improve. Hojlund is returning and still recovering his form. However, other players are stepping up. I am impressed with Rashford, and Garnacho has been excellent, with Antony also performing well towards the end.”

“One reason for substituting Rashford early was the concern that he might receive a second yellow card and be sent off. If he committed another foul, he could have been dismissed, and we couldn’t take that risk. Maguire felt unwell after halftime, so I had to substitute him.”

“We know that our goals scored aren’t enough, which isn’t a good start from this perspective; we need to improve, and this is an area that needs to be addressed. However, we have four clean sheets, which is a positive aspect, showing that we are doing well defensively.”