Ten Hag blasts 'harsh' red card

Marcus Rashford's red card that caused a massive momentum shift in Manchester United's 4-3 Champions League loss was "harsh," a shell-shocked Erik ten Hag said as his team's early-season calamity continued.

"Do you have one hour?" Ten Hag told TNT Sports, when asked for his thoughts on the game. "I think first we played very good until the red card. The red card changed everything. Then it becomes a different game.

"It is disappointing. It is a harsh decision," the Dutchman said. "He was going for the ball. The review was over, then (the referee) went up to the screen. I think the referee was not sure."

Ten Hag was not alone in his assessment.

"No, not in a million years (should it have been a red)," former United player Owen Hargreaves said on the TNT broadcast. "Marcus is just trying to put his leg in front of the ball. He's not even looking at the ball.

"When you see a still as a referee, it looks horrendous. It's not malicious, it's not serious foul play."

Fellow former United player Paul Scholes added: "I think that's where the understanding of the referee has to come into it. It's an accident. He's trying to plant his foot and protect the ball."

The loss was United's first in the Champions League in which they led by two or more goals. It was also its first defeat after taking a two-goal lead in all competitions since September 2014 in a 5-3 loss to Leicester City.

It was also part of a bigger picture in which United stumbled to its worst start to a season since 1962 after successive 3-0 home defeats. A 1-0 victory at Fulham last Saturday eased the pressure on Ten Hag — at least temporarily — with Luton Town up next this weekend.

Reuters