Man Utd can still reach Champions League knockout phase: Ten Hag

Soccer Football – Champions League – Group A – Manchester United v Galatasaray – Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain – October 3, 2023 Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag looks dejected after the match Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff Acquire Licensing Rights

Oct 4 (Reuters) – Manchester United are still in the running for a place in the Champions League round of 16 despite Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat by Galatasaray leaving them bottom of Group A, manager Erik ten Hag said.

United, who lost 4-3 at Bayern Munich in their opener last month, twice took the lead against the Turkish champions through Rasmus Hojlund but were pegged back by goals from Wilfried Zaha and Kerem Akturkoglu before Mauro Icardi scored the winner.

“Everything is open. There are still four games to go and we have a double (game) with Copenhagen,” Ten Hag told TNT Sports after United lost for a sixth time in all competitions this season.

“Every game is tough but we know what to do. We know what our demand is there, to stay in this group and to keep our positions open for going through.”

Midfielder Christian Eriksen echoed his manager’s sentiments, telling TNT Sports: “Luckily it is only the start of the competition and we’ve only played two games.

“There’s still a lot of games to play and catch up – we know we need to win every game to have every opportunity to go through.”

United are also struggling on the domestic front and are off to their worst start to a top-flight campaign since 1989-90. Their 1-0 defeat by Crystal Palace on Saturday was their fourth loss in seven Premier League games.

Ten Hag said he hoped to harness United’s disappointment ahead of their league game against Brentford on Saturday, when they will look to avoid a third consecutive home defeat in all competitions.

“We have to go again and have energy,” he said. The setback we have, has to be the fuel for Saturday.”

Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford

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