Erik ten Hag's criticism of his Manchester United players has been backed up by Red Devils icon Patrice Evra, who agrees that a "massive lack of belief" was their undoing in the Manchester Derby.
Manchester City stormed to a 4-0 lead by half-time and went on to defeat their local rivals 6-3 at the Etihad Stadium last Sunday. Even though the scoreline flattered United, City's dominant margin of victory was surprising given United came into the match full of confidence after four consecutive Premier League victories.
This self-belief went AWOL when the Red Devils needed it most, leaving Ten Hag in no doubt over the cause of his side's heavy, demoralising defeat. The Dutchman pointed to an absence of confidence and confessed he was "surprised why we didn't bring that on the pitch".
"It was a lack of belief," Ten Hag said. "I will show the team that we could have been front-footed. We win the ball then give it away for the first goal. We take wrong decisions in the transition afterwards. We don't follow the rules so we are undisciplined. It cannot happen. It is unacceptable."
Evra is in "absolute" agreement with the United manager, declaring "there was no belief" and picking out the likes of Tyrell Malacia and Antony, for whom the game will have been a wake-up call.
The former United left-back told Betfair: "This is the Premier League and I think for some new players like Malacia and Antony, they were having fun but I think after that game they are going to say: 'OK, this is not the Dutch league, this is the Premier League.'
Why did Manchester United play without "belief" in the derby? Have your say in the comments...
"It was a massive lack of belief, it was as if they said to City you are better than us. They didn't follow the plan, I'm sure Ten Hag had a plan like he had against Arsenal and Liverpool and I think they forgot everything because they were scared. It was like the plan went out of the window because they saw City and said, 'those guys are monsters, they are not human beings'.
"There's nothing positive about that match, the only thing, at least Anthony Martial came in and scored two goals, he's back from injury, so that's the only thing."
Evra claimed the scoreline was "flattering" for the Red Devils and declared City "are going to win the league", such was their brilliance against his former club. The Sky Blues continued their fine form on Wednesday with a 5-0 thrashing of Copenhagen in the Champions League, while United were in Europa League action against Omonia Nicosia the following day.
