‘It was our best team display’ — Ten Hag praises dazzling Man United

Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag hailed his side's display in their 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday, and said Cristiano Ronaldo's decision to walk down the tunnel early would be dealt with.

After two shots on target in a dire 0-0 draw with Newcastle United on Sunday at Old Trafford, the hosts looked like a different side against Spurs, dominating the match from start to finish.

United had 28 shots — the most by a team in a Premier League match this season.

The figure was also the most a team managed by Antonio Conte has faced in a top-flight game, in what was the 318th league match he has taken charge of in Serie A and the Premier League.

“I am pleased with the team,” Ten Hag said.

“I think it was the best team performance this season.

“You have seen today we are developing. You see how we want to play, we get better on the pitch every time. Spurs are a magnificent team so far this season, I said to the lads in the dressing room it was enjoyable to watch you.

“It was a squad performance. What we have seen today, we have 11 players who defend and 11 who attack. I am pleased with that. I will not say that I am totally satisfied. That has to be the standard at Manchester United.”

There was one negative for Ten Hag as unused substitute Ronaldo walked down the tunnel before the final whistle, seemingly unhappy at not being involved again this season.

The United boss, however, did not want the incident to detract from their display.

“I don't pay attention today, we will deal with that tomorrow,” he said.

“I want to focus on this team, on these 11 players.

“Against this Tottenham, you need good pressing, good counter-pressing, from there you can create chances. So you need good pressing players. Offensive wise you need that dynamic. That is what Marcus (Rashford) brings.”

Spurs coach Antonio Conte said his side struggles to compete in games against top Premier League clubs.

For all their progress this season — Spurs are third in the standings despite the loss — Conte feels his team  let themselves down against tougher opponents.

“We have to be honest, United deserved to win,” Conte said.

“They started the game very well. On our side, we did not start the game. It was really difficult because we made a lot of simple mistakes.

“The table is good, but every time we play a high-level game, we struggle. I want to be honest, against Chelsea we struggle, we lost against Arsenal and Manchester United we lost.

“In this type of game, I think you need to arrive and not make big mistakes, with great concentration, and great focus. You need to be ready to fight a war, or you die against your opponent. The level is very high, we are struggling.”

Conte, however, is not too worried and feels his team need time to continue their improvement.

“In only 10 months we cannot pass from ninth place (when he took over) to become title contenders the year after,” he said.

“We do not forget last season. We need to be disappointed. We need to show much more. I think that we can do much better than this today.”

Elsewhere, Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp praised his side's ability to grind out three points against West Ham United on Wednesday as they backed up their weekend victory over Manchester City.

Darwin Nunez's header, his first Anfield goal, sealed another 1-0 win for Liverpool, who have climbed into seventh place after a troubled start to the campaign.

"He was outstanding. He is a massive talent and is only 22. He came from Portugal and he wasn't there for long, so not too long away he was in Uruguay. He is a really big talent, we're really excited about him," Klopp said.