Dimitar Berbatov

Dimitar Berbatov: Going to be difficult for United to get out of Champions League group

  • Dimitar Berbatov
  • Published on
  • Updated on
  • 3:00 min read
Berbatov and Erik ten Hag
Dimitar Berbatov says Erik ten Hag's job is safe... for now

After another defeat in the Champions League Manchester United have it all to do to qualify from the group, and Dimitar Berbatov is worried about their confidence and their leadership but says Erik ten Hag's job is safe for now...

  • Two defeats from two in Champions League for United

  • Confidence and leadership a big issue says Berbatov

  • Finger-pointing at Erik ten Hag hasn't started yet

  • Great start for Tottenham but hold off on title talk


Man Utd punished by Galatasaray

If you lose a Champions League game, and in the way that Man United did, it's painful. Rashford had a good chance to score before they were punished by Galatasaray.

Overall, I think everyone is disappointed with the performance and with the way the game unfolded. Especially after Man United took the lead.

Man United are a big team and they need to know how to keep hold of a lead in the Champions League. Again, we saw personal mistakes that have led to goals.

Man United need to keep the faith alive to make it out of the group stages, but I don't know why it always has to be done the difficult way.

It's going to be extremely difficult, no matter if they're playing against Copenhagen or Bayern Munich.

When you continue to play the way they have been and making the mistakes they have been, then Man Utd will suffer.

I like Onana's confidence, but he needs to play smarter

The goalkeeper position is a difficult, strange, and sensitive one. Goalkeepers are a different breed in a way. Onana is going to be the no.1, for sure. But his confidence is causing him to make mistakes. You can see that from his body language against Galatasaray.

Sometimes, he forgets that he's playing smart players. Other players will be studying how Onana plays, and they will bait him into playing certain passes. That's exactly what happened against Galatasaray.

He needs to maintain his confidence but tone it down a bit and think more about who you're playing and how they're playing.

I've watched Onana play before, and he's always been the same and I like that. Nowadays, you must play out from the back so it's good to have Onana because he's good with the ball at his feet.

Having said that, I've played football myself and confidence can sometimes play tricks on you and cause you to make mistakes.

Man United signed Onana for a reason. He's a great goalkeeper and he'll continue to play the way he has been because Erik ten Hag loves that type of football.

The Leadership on the pitch isn't there

I think now that Man United's goalkeeper and defenders are making the same mistakes. The defensive line is out of shape from time to time, the communication isn't there and the leadership isn't there. You look at Raphael Varane, who has won pretty much everything, he needs to be a commanding figure in the team but he's struggling as well.

RaphaelVaraneClapping1280.jpg

The goalkeeper and defence need to have each other's backs right now because they're all making mistakes and it needs to be corrected as soon as possible.

When you play for Man United, you must be a leader in your own way. Everyone must also take responsibility and ownership of their mistakes. When it comes to the big clubs, there will always be a certain few players that are always highlighted. A team is one machine, so when the team isn't playing well, your star players will suffer too.

The whole Man United team is suffering right now. Even if you're doing everything to correct things, if the results aren't there you can sometimes overdo things which will lead to even more mistakes.

Man Utd players are in a vicious cycle and will wonder how to get out of it, but the only way to do that, is the next game.

Ten Hag's future is secure - for now

When the team isn't doing well, most of the time the manager will get the sack or the blame. I don't think the finger-pointing at Erik ten Hag has started yet but he will be taking responsibility for how things are going right now.

At the moment, I think Erik ten Hag is fine, but if he doesn't correct results then it won't be long before everyone around Man United starts to become angry and asks for change.

VAR audio is hectic and chaotic

The audio that was released recently from the Tottenham v Liverpool game all sounds very hectic. Everyone is talking over each other, you get confused and, in the end, you can hear that the officials don't really know what to say.

It was very strange and painful to hear because the chaos that we heard needs to be controlled. I'm a big supporter of VAR because it does help the game. In this case, it didn't work because of the people who were in control of it.

The communication between referee and VAR needs to be better because how do you now compensate Liverpool for the mistake at the weekend. No one will end up satisfied.

Spurs are back, but hold off on title talk

It's about time Tottenham were playing this well. We must enjoy it for the moment because everything is going great. Where they are in the table isn't a coincidence because they're playing good, attacking football and taking risks. Spurs are forcing their opponents to make mistakes. The fans are enjoying it and they have their Spurs back.

Let Tottenham try to surprise everyone who is writing them off and put them into the conversation for top four. At the moment, they're doing everything great.

It's way too early to say Spurs are major contenders for the Premier League title. We can't underestimate the likes of Man City, Arsenal, and Liverpool. Having said that, it seems they can't do anything wrong. Even if they're not playing well, they're finding a way to win and that's the mark of a champion team and one that wins titles.

We can't even think about Spurs winning the title yet though because I don't want to jinx it. There's too much football to be played to think about it just yet.


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