Erik ten Hag lambasted his Manchester United failures after Christian Eriksen’s costly blunder led to a 1-1 draw with FC Twente in their Europa League debut on Wednesday. Eriksen’s 35th-minute strike put United ahead, but the Danish midfielder gave Twente a second-half equalizer at Old Trafford. Sam Lammers dispossessed Eriksen, who had taken a reckless spin under pressure and shot past Andre Onana in the 68th minute. United boss Ten Hag declined to single out Eriksen, arguing that the entire squad had to accept responsibility for their failure to maintain the advantage.
“We kept them alive with a 1-0 lead. To dominate the game, you must be constant and persistent. When asked about Eriksen’s error, Ten Hag responded: “The goal is (a) team (fault); a Twente player may dribble around the pitch without stopping. We cannot give a goal away like this.”We’ve seen that you have to keep going throughout the game; if you’re up 1-0, you have to keep going and aim for the second. It’s the first game; you must get.
Ten Hag spent a total of 23 years at Twente, three as a player and later in various coaching positions, remarking on the eve of the game, “It’s not nice to have to hurt something you love.”
Instead, the Eredivisie side caused the agony, aided by another lackluster United effort following Saturday’s depressing goalless draw at Crystal Palace. Eriksen questioned if United performed with enough drive after their losing streak in European tournaments reached one win in nine games. “They seemed to want it more, which can’t be right,” Eriksen added. We didn’t lose, but it seems like it.”
After completing last season at the bottom of their Champions League group with only one win, United had another disappointing start to European competition. Ten Hag’s sputtering team returns to Old Trafford on Sunday to face Tottenham. Listen to the most recent music, exclusively on JioSaavn.com. In the new Europa League first stage, they will face Porto before facing Fenerbahce, headed by former manager Jose Mourinho.