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Manchester United have been eliminated from European football and finished fourth in their Champions League group.
The lifeless 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich confirmed that United would have no European distractions in the new year.
Erik ten Hag’s side lost four times in their group and returned the worst points total in their history.
In response, the Dutchman cut a disappointed figure while being interviewed on TNT Sports but insisted that the side didn’t lose their qualification tonight.
Ten Hag commented that the team “had some good performances” during the campaign but “we made errors and were not good enough”. The former Ajax coach went on to praise his side’s efforts tonight and argued “the performance was good again today and we didn’t deserve to lose”.
The manager was then pressed by the interviewer about despite needing a win, his side only mustered five shots in total and a solitary effort on target. The man from Haaksbergen responded that his team “absolutely showed enough commitment, with very good defensive organization and ball pressing” during the match.
The coach then claimed that it was up to him and the team to work out how to try and solve the club’s issue of giving away goals and losing leads. “We know we want to be more consistent. I have to guide them. Players have to take responsibility. We need to do it together”.
The 53 year old, clearly trying to pick up his troops for Sunday’s daunting trip to Anfield, stated “it’s clear that the players gave everything. We saw spirit and I credit them how they worked as a team against a good Bayern side”.
Although, the Dutch coach went on to bemoan United’s injury problems and lack of depth from the bench. “You need energy from the bench and options were limited”. The manager was also unable to provide any timeline for the returns of injured duo Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw as they need to be evaluated after waiting 24 hours.
Finally, Ten Hag asserted that his team have “to accept and learn from” their failure to make it out of the group stage. The manager would go on to say it was important the team and players like Rasmus Hojlund take positives from their displays in Europe and “take belief into the Premier League”.
Hojlund was an intentional example as the young Dane scored five goals in six games in Europe but has yet to score any goals domestically.
Clearly the manager was trying to hide his disappointment and rally the side for Anfield.
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