Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano “not surprised” by “terrible” Man Utd defeat as he comments on Ten Hag’s start as manager

Fabrizio Romano insists he is not surprised by the poor result for Manchester United as they were thrashed 6-3 by rivals Manchester City in yesterday’s big Premier League clash.

Writing in his exclusive column for CaughtOffside, Romano expressed the view that it’s clearly going to be a long-term project for Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford, with the Dutch tactician unlikely to have been able to do a great deal more than he has done at this stage of his tenure.

Man City were by far the better team as they battered the Red Devils at the Etihad Stadium yesterday, with Erling Haaland and Phil Foden both scoring hat-tricks in this memorable game.

Man Utd scored two late consolation goals through Anthony Martial to ease some of the humiliation, but Romano admits there’s no denying that this was a “terrible” defeat for the club.

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It’s been a mixed start overall for Ten Hag, but Romano believes that this long-term project will need more time.

“I’ve always thought that Erik ten Hag needs time for his project, you can’t change the situation of a club in 40 days,” Romano said.

“The defeat is certainly terrible but Ten Hag’s project is long-term, not short-term. I’m not surprised honestly, especially against Man City who is one of the top rosters in the world.”