We defended well according to the statistics — Man United's Erik Ten Hag analyses Newcastle defeat

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has admitted that his team played poorly against Newcastle but thought they defended well and played well towards the end.

The Red Devils suffered a 1-0 defeat at St James Park to hand the three-time Champions League winners their sixth defeat of the season.

Newcastle put the visitors through the wringer for most of the encounter but were mostly wasteful; however, Anthony Gordon’s goal in the 55th minute ensured victory for the Magpies.

"We have to give credit to Newcastle; they played better than us tonight. We started well, had a chance with Garnacho, but then after that, they were better,” he said, per the BBC.

"For a long period, they were better than us, and we went 1-0 down. To be fair at the end of the game we came back and had some good opportunities. Reguilon, very good chance. The offside goal. So yes in the end we fought back but we need to do this over a whole game.

"You could say we defended quite well [as per the statistics], but I prefer for us to stay further away from our goal. I'd prefer us to have more of the ball and play in their half. 

“We had our moments where we could make good movements but it was not enough. We need to be more dominant in a game.”

Meanwhile, ten Hag has refused to comment publicly on Marcus Rashford’s poor form, saying he will only discuss the player’s performance privately.