Erik ten Hag explains why he decided to repeat the line-up

After Manchester United announced their starting XI to face Southampton, a lot of people were surprised to see that Erik ten Hag chose to stick with the exact same line-up that got him his first win in charge of the team against Liverpool on Monday. Even though the Saints are a very different opponent, the manager wants the players to maintain the momentum.

When he was asked about why he decided to keep the same players, he said that it is important to keep the momentum rolling: “I think we have a squad that is quite competitive, so it’s always a difficult decision. We had a really good performance on Monday and then you stick to it”, he told BT Sport.

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He gave credit to every player that was part of the victory: “We didn’t do it with 11 players, we did it with more but I want to give the trust to those 11 that did it from the start. They had a good performance but there are also a lot of other games where the other players will come on because we have a good level of players in the squad and a good level of competition”, he told MUTV.

They also questioned the Dutch manager about why dropping Cristiano Ronaldo and Harry Maguire again: “As a person, it is always a consideration, but as a manager, you have to take the clear decisions. The team is always the most important. You make the decision that is in advantage for the team, no matter who it is. In your communication, you have to be clear and be honest”, he said to BT Sport.

We'll have to wait and see

Hopefully Manchester United will get their second win in a row today against Southampton. The team looked really good against Liverpool but let’s remember the last time out when Brentford scored four goals against us. Cristiano Ronaldo and Casemiro might help the team coming out of the bench if the game requires it.