Ten Hag doesn't mind Man City's treble chance
This season, Man City missed the League Cup, but still have the opportunity to win all three remaining tournaments. They are currently second in the Premier League with 70 points, four points behind Arsenal and one game less. They will defend the title if they win all eight remaining matches, including a direct confrontation with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium on April 26.
In addition, Man City also met Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-finals on April 22 and Real in the Champions League semi-finals, with two legs taking place on May 9 and May 16. If they reach the finals of both tournaments, Man City must play 13 more games for the rest of the season. Coach Pep Guardiola once expressed his ambition to win all three titles to replicate Man Utd's achievements in the 1998-1999 season.
Man Utd can also win the treble this season. They have won the League Cup, as a guest of Brighton in the semi-finals of the FA Cup on April 23 and played the second leg of the Europa League quarter-final against Sevilla today. In the pre-match press conference, when asked about the possibility of being motivated to win more titles, especially the FA Cup, to prevent Man City from winning the treble, Ten Hag replied: "We are not distracted. because of problems like that, but just thinking about winning every game and continuing to improve Man Utd's record. We want to compete with the best club. So we have to improve and know we have to improve. furthermore".
In the first leg at Old Trafford, Man Utd entered the boom and led two goals thanks to a brace from midfielder Marcel Sabitzer in the first half. However, the "Red Devils" sagged and lost their advantage because of mistakes in the defense. In the 84th minute, Sevilla shortened the gap when Jesus Navas crossed the ball to touch Tyrell Malacia, making David de Gea unable to react. In the second minute of compensation, the La Liga representative decided to draw the score from the situation where Youssef En-Nesyri headed Harry Maguire to change direction to fly into the goal.
According to Ten Hag, Man Utd played well in the first 60 minutes, but did not maintain stability and froze in the last 30 minutes. "This is unacceptable and we know it," emphasized the Dutch coach. "When that happens, you get punished. These are the lessons we talked about, and you saw Man Utd change in the win over Nottingham Forest over the weekend."
Ten Hag is satisfied with the ability to organize all over the field, the defense when pointing out the statistics of Man Utd as one of the clubs that concede the least in the Premier League. The 53-year-old coach is also confident that Man Utd will improve the attack, scoring more goals in the final matches of the season when picking up the pillars after injury. "We want to score in every game and are confident we can do that against Sevilla," he said.
Ten Hag hailed De Gea as an all-round goalkeeper with the ability to block shots, stretch across, one-on-one. He appreciated Christian Eriksen for his ability to read the game, choose his position, calm on the ball, assist and experience playing big games. According to the Dutch coach, Luke Shaw, Sabitzer, Tyrell Malacia, Marcus Rashford have all returned to full training and can play today.
