Erik ten Hag paid a compliment to Leeds United's performance during Sunday's competitive clash at Elland Road, their caretaker manager Michael Skubala has confirmed.
United ran out 2-0 winners in West Yorkshire after two goals inside five minutes from Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho. A much-changed Reds defence absorbed a huge amount of pressure from Leeds, who harnessed a fervent atmosphere to press and harry Ten Hag's side from the off.
But a combination of resilient defending and a lack of quality in the final third saw 80 minutes pass without a goal before the decision to move Rashford central once again paid instant dividends, the in-form forward glancing a Luke Shaw cross past Illan Meslier in the Whites goal.
RATINGS: Rashford and Shaw good in win vs Leeds
Garnacho raced through to fire home a second five minutes later and United held firm to record a fifth win in six games across all competitions. But it was no easy task for Ten Hag, and the Dutchman was complimentary of his opposite number Skubala - managing just the second game of his career - as they shared a moment at full-time.
"I think it's a personal conversation that one," the Leeds caretaker boss told the press when asked about his brief chat with Ten Hag, Leeds Live reports. "But he was really complimentary about how the team was set up and how we played it. He said it was a tough game, things like that. Yeah, it’s really nice to see how complimentary he was about our structure and our tactics."
Skubala added: "They're a good team. I think he's done a great job, Erik ten Hag, getting that team playing and like you say, getting them fighting and being competitive at the same time. But I thought we matched that in every account.
"I thought we matched the quality. I thought we matched in competitiveness. I thought we matched it tactically and structurally as well for 80 minutes of the game."
READ NEXT
