- Douglas Luiz celebrated directly in front of Raphael Varane after equalising
- Erik ten Hag admitted this could have spurred on his players to bounce back
- CHRIS SUTTON: Erik ten Hag is still on trial. He needs more than gradual improvement this season to keep his job – It’s All Kicking Off podcast
Erik ten Hag admitted that Douglas Luiz’s shimmy celebration may have spurred his Manchester United players to beat Aston Villa and close the gap in the race for the top-four.
The Brazilian launched into his routine in front of the Holte End when he cancelled out Rasmus Hojlund’s opener in the second half. But it also appeared to be straight at Raphael Varane who held out his arms in protest.
When Scott McTominay headed United’s winner in the 86th minute, Varane made a beeline for Luiz and the confrontation between the two players only ended when referee Rob Jones intervened.
Former United favourite Rio Ferdinand poked fun at the Villa man on social media afterwards, posting a photo of Luiz doing his shimmy with the caption: ‘U ok?’
Ten Hag tried to be more diplomatic but admitted that that celebration may have ‘fuelised’ (fuelled) his players.
‘I don’t have an opinion about that,’ said the United boss. ‘I haven’t spoken to the players. Maybe it’s fuelising, I don’t know.
‘I don’t think it is important. It is about us, we have to think about our game and not the opposition.’
Ten Hag was frustrated that United didn’t do more to close the game out after going ahead through Rasmus Hojlund in the first half.
‘The way we did it, I liked it. I especially liked the first 20 minutes when we controlled the game. But once we scored we changed our mind-set. For me, you must play on.
‘It was too much like a tennis match, we had problems in the counter-attack. It was so open and it could go two ways but we found the mentality and character to win the game.’
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
