Erik ten Hag blasts ‘unacceptable’ late capitulation from Man United in 4-3 defeat at Chelsea insisting they ‘gave away a game we should have won’

• Manager thought his side deserved the win after Blues’ stoppage-time triumph
• Champions League spot could be in question as Red Devils stay rooted in sixth 
• Why this is the end for Erik ten Hag at Man United – Listen to the It’s All Kicking Off podcast

Erik ten Hag has called upon his Manchester United team to learn from their ‘unacceptable’ defeat at the hands of Chelsea on Thursday night. 

The visitors had stamped out the Blues’ two-goal lead in through goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes by the time the whistle blew for half-time, and a second goal from the former in the second-half all but sealed victory on the road after the weekend’s draw with Brentford. 

But a late penalty conceded by Diogo Dalot handed momentum back to the hosts, and after Cole Palmer levelled from the spot in stoppage time, the boyhood United fan heaped yet more misery onto the Red Devils with a matchwinner struck just 82 seconds later. 

Defeat on the road calls into question Man United’s on-going quest for a spot in the Champions League places, with the side rooted to sixth place – and currently out of contention – on 48 points. 

But despite his disappointment, Ten Hag was also keen to stress that he believed his side, who had led for large swathes of the second-half, deserved to win.  

‘It was for the neutral an amazing game. A fantastic football game with a lot of quality,’ Ten Hag told BBC Sport after the final whistle. 

Man United swing between shambolic and sensational on the same night, writes CHRIS WHEELER as Cole Palmer delivers crushing blow to top four hopes in 4-3 thriller 

‘Manchester United dominated the game but we made individual errors that cost us the game.

‘We have to learn from it. When you are a Man Utd player you should already know how to deal with this circumstance.

‘I enjoyed how my team were playing, it was fantastic. We dominated the ball, we dominated the opponent.’

But, Ten Hag added: ‘In five days we dropped five points. That is unacceptable. We should have a high standard if we want to compete for Champions League football.

‘I don’t know (if the top four is gone). I have to see again the ranking. Points will be more expensive. It’s very disappointing we’re doing this and making the wrong decisions. We gave away a game we should have won.

‘As a team we should deal with this.’

Speaking to TNT Sport, the Dutch manager conceded that the side had started ‘poorly’, only to grow into the game. 

‘You saw we were dominating the game and it was brilliant how we played – we deserved to win the game.

PLAYER RATINGS: Cole Palmer seals dramatic late win for Chelsea 

‘But, you cannot give it away like we did and we have to manage this game better.

‘It is a team performance, you can point to one of the players but it’s about a team performance.

‘When it gets chaotic you have to deal with it as a team and we made the wrong decisions and we didn’t help out as a team.

‘Out of possession we made bad decision – a lack of concentration.

‘Also, I think lucky at the end with the penalty situation, questionable and very soft but we have to do better.’

Ten Hag’s future will likely hang in the balance if Man United are unable to secure a place in Europe’s top flight next season. 

But ahead of Thursday evening’s clash, the manager had pleaded for patience with his ‘process’ from new minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe.