"Even when you are two-nil down, it doesn't matter" – Erik ten Hag reveals what he told Manchester United stars at half-time before comeback win

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has opened up on what he told his stars at half-time of their 3-2 league victory against Aston Villa.

The Red Devils, who are sixth in the 2023-24 league standings with 31 points from 19 games, ended their four-match winless run on Tuesday.

John McGinn and Leander Dendoncker bagged a goal apiece to put Villa ahead by two goals in 26 minutes. However, Alejandro Garnacho netted inside a space of 12 minutes after the half-time break before Rasmus Hojlund scored the decisive strike in front of their home fans.

Following the contest at Old Trafford, Ten Hag shared his two cents on Manchester United's comeback league win. He opined (h/t Daily Mail):

"The atmosphere changed a lot from the first half to the second, but if you look at the first half you are losing because of two set plays, in moments where we were not so focused. I think already in the first half we played quite well, and kept trying and trying."

Ten Hag, who has been Manchester United's boss since 2022, added:

"At half-time, I said to the team, 'Keep believing, and keep doing what we did, actually do even more.' We needed to put more and more pressure on. At 1-2, then when we added pressure, you see what happened."

Revealing his half-time team talk, the former Ajax manager concluded:

"I said before the game that we were competitive with Arsenal, with Liverpool so if we play our best we can beat anyone. Believe that, even when you are two-nil down, it doesn't matter. Keep going, show character, and today they did show we have the personality to do it. I think it was a very good team performance."

Rasmus Hojlund thrilled after finally ending Manchester United goal drought in league

After Manchester United's 3-2 home victory over Aston Villa, Rasmus Hojlund said that he is elated to finally score his first Premier League goal. He told reporters in a post-match chat (h/t X/Premier League):

"It's been a while but I'm happy. I'm the happiest man alive right now. You can see the celebrations right now, we believe right until the end. It's been a while in the Premier League, so I'm happy to get the first one. Hopefully I can build on that and keep going."

Hojlund, who arrived in a potential £72 million transfer from Atalanta in August, had gone 14 matches without his first Premier League goal.

So far this campaign, the 20-year-old has found the back of the net six times in 23 appearances across competitions for Manchester United.