Erik ten Hag addresses criticism over Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund substitutions.

During Manchester United's derby loss to Manchester City on Sunday, Erik ten Hag defended his tactical adjustments.

Manchester United suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat at Old Trafford, with Erling Haaland scoring twice and Phil Foden adding a late third. Ten Hag's substitutions during the match, however, were a source of concern and critique from commentators and supporters alike.

In an attempt to bolster the team's attack, Mason Mount was brought on at the start of the second half to replace holding midfielder Sofyan Amrabat. Regrettably, the move failed to have the desired impact. Instead of enhancing their creativity, United found themselves further suppressed as City consolidated their dominance and cruised to their third consecutive victory in all competitions after the October international break.

Ten Hag justified the decision to bring Mount on, stating, 'In order to be more offensive, we needed to step up our game. We were losing the match. Immediately after half time, we had to adopt a more aggressive approach. We made this happen by moving Eriksen from the left flank to assist Alvarez, and by introducing Mount to add more firepower in an attempt to turn the game around.

'However, it's undeniable that this made our midfield less stable. We were disciplined in the first half as per our plan. We made an error in the second half where we passed back to the keeper at an inappropriate moment and didn't recover quickly enough. This allowed them to take control in midfield, switch the game's flow and score. However, it was all initiated by our mistake. We had no choice but to create opportunities because we were trailing. You can't just wait for things to happen. If you have Mount on the bench, you'd naturally expect creativity.'

When striker Rasmus Hojlund, who was penalised for pulling Rodri in the box, resulting in Haaland's first goal, was taken off along with Victor Lindelof in the 73rd minute and replaced by Alejandro Garnacho and Sergio Reguilon, the Old Trafford crowd responded with jeers.

Moreover, this was not the first instance of Ten Hag being publically criticised for pulling out his Danish acquisition during the summer. Following a 3-1 loss to Brighton in September, he labelled the boos as 'encouraging'.

Addressing Hojlund's substitution, Ten Hag said, 'Rasmus has been playing in every match and he's not accustomed to it. We had to exert extra effort to keep on pressing. It's necessary to safeguard the players and bring fresh energy onto the field.

'The game plan was effective. It's about altering the dynamics of the match. You're losing and as a manager, you're required to respond, particularly when you have substitutes available. It becomes crucial to use them to introduce more potent attacking force onto the pitch.'