Nicklas Bendtner blames Erik ten Hag for Man Utd star's 'terrible performance'
Nicklas Bendtner was shocked by Manchester United’s display (Picture: Getty)
Nicklas Bendtner has blamed Erik ten Hag for Manchester United midfielder Christian Eriksen’s ‘terrible performance’ against Crystal Palace.
United suffered an embarrassing defeat at Selhurst Park on Monday night, with Palace running out 4-0 winners to complete their first ever league double over the Manchester giants.
While the loss was shocking, it was not overly surprising as United have struggled under Ten Hag all season and sit just eighth in the Premier League with three games remaining.
United have shipped 55 league goals this season – six more than 15th-placed Everton – and almost blew a three-goal lead in their FA Cup semi-final win over Championship side Coventry City.
Former Arsenal striker Bendtner was shocked by United’s ‘horrible’ performance against Crystal Palace and says the players lacked ‘motivation’ and ‘spirit’.
‘It was horrible, let’s just tell it like it is,’ he said on the Stolpe ind podcast. ‘But it was collectively that the whole team collapsed.
‘They seemed slow. They seemed tired. They played without motivation and without spirit. They couldn’t even press together.
Christian Eriksen was one of a number of United players to struggle (Picture: Getty)
‘It was such a terrible game of football for 90 minutes that it was painful to watch.
‘You could see that the Crystal Palace players were just teasing them. I mean, when have you ever seen Crystal Palace players going around teasing Manchester United players because they couldn’t get hold of them?
‘Olise and Eze did whatever they wanted, it was a disgrace to watch. Roy Keane would have been shown a red card, I can say that for sure.’
Bendtner, who also played for English clubs Birmingham, Sunderland and Nottingham Forest, described his compatriot Eriksen’s performance as ‘terrible’ but says Ten Hag was to blame for fielding a dysfunctional midfield.
‘To go to Eriksen’s defence a little bit – if you like – even though it was a terrible performance, it’s him and Mainoo in there,’ Bendtner added.
‘An older player who hasn’t been known for tackling and heading, and then you have Mainoo, who is 1.7m tall and just 18.
‘You can’t expect those two in a new midfield and Jonny Evans and Casemiro at the back to play together and do anything.’
Manchester United return to action on Sunday against Bendtner’s former club Arsenal, who still have hopes of lifting the Premier League trophy.
Ten Hag’s side then face Newcastle United and Brighton in the league before meeting Manchester City at Wembley in the FA Cup final on May 25.
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