Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag believes the return of several key players from injury in the new year will “strengthen the team” after another disappointing loss.
The Red Devils lost 2-1 to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday evening, their 14th defeat in all competitions this term.
Nicolas Dominguez broke the deadlock in the 64th minute before Marcus Rashford equalised with just his third Premier League goal of the season.
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But the hosts retook the lead almost immediately as former Man United winger Anthony Elanga set up Gibbs-White to score what was ultimately the winning goal.
“First half performance was okay,” Ten Hag told BBC Radio 5live. “We invested to do less in the final third. I think we should have created more.
“The second half we had moments when we conceded goals. Then we come back in the game and I think the game was ours and we went for 2-1 and then we conceded. We had our moments but it was not good enough to win here.”
Man United were missing ten players through injury heading into the game, including Rasmus hojlund, Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez, while Anthony was forced off with an injury in the 54th minute of the match.
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“We are hopeful that many players will be back in the new year and they will strengthen the team and the squad.
“We know the reasons why it is not working. No team can deal with so many issues and injuries we have had. We should still have done better and we have depth in the squad. When you have so many injuries, the depth is not enough.”
Ten Hag added: “We have to make our performances consistent and have to do better. A game is 90 minutes and we have to invest from the first minute on.”
