In the days approaching FC Twente’s big night at Old Trafford, the Ditch media didn’t really give them much hope against Erik ten Hag’s side… with some not giving them any hope at all.
Indeed, one of the of the country’s most prominent football journalists, Valentijn Driessen, said earlier this week: “You can already fill in the result. That will be a victory for Manchester United.”
FC Twente’s players were advised to have a good time and make sure they got a shirt to take home with them.
Manchester United’s undulating reality always presented the very real likelihood of something different. Erik ten Hag facing the club he started and finished his playing career at, his club, should have given him the platform to create a tactical plan to easily beat a team he knows well and which has far inferior players to his own.
It wasn’t to be. Manchester United could only find the back of the night once, via a great strike from Christian Eriksen.
Playing the Denmark international again looked like a potential fitness gamble, but it paid off with the goal. Taking the 32-year-old off at half time or just after would have rounded things off nicely for Eriksen, but instead he was left on to make a tired mistake which directly led to the equaliser.
Manchester United’s Big Problem
Ten Hag spoke to the Dutch media after the match and explained his team just can’t find the back of the net often enough.
SoccerNews quote him as saying: “We really have difficulty scoring, that needs to improve. We create a lot of chances, but we have difficulty scoring.”
Ten Hag Not Bothered By Pressure
He was then asked about media pressure and Manchester United legends sticking the boot in, to which he said: “If you lose at the top, you always have a problem, no matter which coach. The board knows that we are in a process and that we are building. It is much calmer now. If we are a few months further, I think we can really build a nice team.
“I’m used to that. That was the case at Ajax and it’s the case here. These are clubs that are always in the spotlight. Everyone has an opinion about it. You have to deal with that and not let it distract you: just keep working stoically.”
