Manchester United coach Erik ten Hag expressed frustration and blamed costly mistakes and poor decision-making for his side conceding two stoppage-time goals against Chelsea to lose 4-3 on Thursday.

Ten Hag said his team deserved to win at Stamford Bridge, after rallying from a two-goal deficit with a brace from Alejandro Garnacho and a goal from Bruno Fernandes.

Individual errors, however, led them to defeat just a few days after his team conceded a last-gasp equaliser to Brentford in a 1-1 draw to move further away from a top-four English Premier League finish. Manchester United now sit at sixth with 48 points.

“I had the feeling we were dominating the game, got ourselves into a winning position, scoring great goals,” Ten Hag told reporters.

“Then, in stoppage time, we didn’t manage to win. Of course, it’s frustrating.

“We made individual errors that cost us the game. The players know their jobs and they didn’t make the right decisions. We have to read when to keep the ball, to pass, move and switch the play when we are winning.

“In five days we dropped five points. That is unacceptable. We gave away a game we should have won.”

The Dutch manager said injury absences of key players have dampened his team’s performance, but he is confident his players will step up on Sunday when they host leaders Liverpool.

“(Raphael) Varane, (Jonny) Evans, Also Casemiro we have to take off. That doesn’t help. You need these types to show leadership and what to do,” he said.

“I don’t know if they will play on Sunday. The team will be there on Sunday. They have character. They showed it today, fighting ourselves into the game.”

Happy feeling

Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino said he hoped that the high drama will prove a turning point in the Blues’ inconsistent season and the sometimes strained relationship between him and the fans.

Pochettino raced onto the pitch at the final whistle after hat-trick hero Cole Palmer scored the latest ever winning goal in a Premier League game after 11 minutes of added time, having equalised a few seconds earlier from the penalty spot.

“It’s important in the end to finish in the way that we finished, creating I think the connection (between) fans and players,” the Argentine coach told reporters.

“It’s a very good thing that happened today (Thursday) and I think should be a turning point for us, creating trust with the fans and in the team,” he said.

A few weeks ago, Pochettino — former manager of Chelsea’s rivals Tottenham Hotspur — was the subject of crude chanting by some fans during a stalemate at Brentford and on Saturday the boos rang out again after a 2-2 draw at home to 10-man Burnley.

However, asked after Thursday’s dramatic last-gasp win about the complaints from some fans that he does not show enough emotion to connect with them, the 52-year-old Pochettino said he was focused on doing his job on the touchline.

Pochettino paid tribute to the irrepressible Palmer who has now scored 16 league goals, only two fewer than former Manchester City teammate and top marksman Erling Haaland.

“One of the basic skills is his mentality, his capacity to deal with the pressure,” Pochettino said of Palmer.