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Martin Harman
LONDON (Reuters) – Manchester United manager Erikten Hag blamed defensive mistakes in the 3-1 loss to Premier League leaders Arsenal to keep them top of the league table 11 points behind from
A five-game win streak at Old Trafford raised title talks, but a mid-week draw and Sunday’s defeat at Crystal Palace put a stop to United’s attempts.
United took an early lead through a goal from Marcus Rashford and took a 2–1 lead before equalizing through Lisandro Martinez’s goal.
But Eddie Nketiah’s close-range effort in the 90th minute ensured a well-deserved win for Arsenal, who dominated the second half.
Ten Hag, who are fourth behind Newcastle United on goal difference, told the BBC: “It was a great, well-paced match and the crowd was the winner.”
“Of course it’s disappointing to lose this game at the end of the game with two top teams. Everything we conceded today was a mistake. It can’t happen.”
United fended off Bukayo Saka, who was guilty of allowing Nketiah a free header after unnecessarily conceding a corner kick, giving Arsenal the lead early in the second half.
They got lucky in the second half, but Nketiah flicked home from goal in the 90th minute.
“Even last week it was very difficult to win in these conditions. Not today. We could have avoided all three goals,” said Netherlands international ten Haag. “They are very good with the ball, but we are a very good team on defense.
“We didn’t have a lot of open chances. We made mistakes we couldn’t have made. This match was decided not only by details, but by decisions. It’s hard to accept that.
“I want to win. That’s not enough. We want to be number one, but if we make a mistake we won’t. That’s obvious, that’s what I told them.” (Reported by Martyn Herman, Edited by Christian Radnedge)
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