Erik ten Hag has achieved his goal at Manchester United. Thanks to a 4-1 win over Chelsea on Thursday night’s end the Mancunians anyway in the top four in the English Premier League. As a result, the formation of the Dutch manager will be active in the Champions League next season. If United also wants to compete for the national title next season, according to Ten Hag, ‘better players’ are needed.
United took the victory over Chelsea thanks to a surplus of effectiveness, because they were seen playing football the Blues certainly equal in the first hour. If United also manages to beat Fulham on Sunday, they will finish third this season. That would be only the fourth time in the last ten years the Red Devils managed to achieve a top three ranking. However, the difference with national champions Manchester City is big. With another round on the program, the difference in the ranking is currently no less than seventeen points.
Ten Hag wants to compete for the national title next season, but knows that a lot still needs to be done. “The difference is now quite big, so we still have a lot of work to do,” Ten Hag said at the closing press conference after the victory over Chelsea. “We are making good progress with this team. But we need better players to reach the highest. I don’t have that much patience, that’s one of my flaws.”
United are expected to have a busy summer transfer window ahead. The club has been associated with several big names, including Neymar, Harry Kane, Victor Osimhen, Mason Mount and Declan Rice. “Finishing in the top four is a kind of prize,” Ten Hag said. “The main goal is to achieve Champions League football. The Premier League is tough, there are a lot of good teams with good managers, so if you finish in the top four you’ve done well. We play well and perform well. For the moment this is the maximum achievable, but we want more.”
Anthony
Ten Hag also said he feared a serious injury to Antony. The Brazilian creative fell out on Thursday in the game against Chelsea. The former Ajax player had to be carried off the field on a stretcher after half an hour. “I can confirm it is serious. Everyone saw that he had to leave the field. It’s hard to say. We have to wait at least 24 hours and then hopefully we will know more about how serious the injury is,” said Ten Hag.