Ten Haag’s rebuttal, ‘sophistry’ that ‘UCL tragedy’ is an opportunity
Manchester United manager Eric ten Hagg is on the brink.
United’s hopes of reaching the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) were dashed after a 1-0 defeat at home to German giants Bayern Munich on Wednesday. They finished bottom of Group A and missed out on a Europa League spot in the third-place playoffs.
In the English Premier League (EPL), they are in sixth place (27 points). They are six points behind fifth-place Tottenham (33 points) and just one point behind seventh- and eighth-place Newcastle and Brighton (both on 26 points or more).
The Reds kick off the 17th round of the 2023-2024 EPL at 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 18 at Liverpool’s Anfield against top-ranked Liverpool (37 points). There are nightmares. United were thrashed 0-7 by Liverpool in their most recent meeting on March 26.
There are concerns that Van Gaal could be sacked if he fails to turn things around against rivals Liverpool. However, Van Gaal insists that will not happen.
“I’m not worried because I’m here to win and we need to improve our team play,” he said in a press conference on the 15th ahead of the Liverpool game. Of course, it’s not enough to play well. We are inconsistent, so we need to try to get the team to play at a higher level for longer periods of time.”
Sir Jim Cliffe has completed the purchase of a 25 percent stake in United and is expected to be involved in decision-making at the club, leading to speculation that Van Gaal could be out the door and replaced by former Chelsea boss Graham Potter.
Van Gaal, who took charge of United last season after leading Dutch side Ajax to the title, said: “We have to win here as we did at Ajax. That is always a requirement. You can never run away from that and neither can I. “It is our duty to win every game. The squad is good enough to create a team that can win every game,” he emphasized.
“I’m focused on the process of making the team play better, making each player better. That’s all I care about, that’s all I do. Focusing on the right things, that’s the team.”
On the 0-7 loss to Liverpool: “It was a bad experience. We played well in the first half, but just 바카라 after halftime we took a big hit and collapsed. We can’t ignore it, but I want the players to be confident from the start.”
The Reds will be without Bruno Fernandes as he accumulates cautions, while Harry Maguire is also out through injury. It’s a tough away trip.
“We had too many injuries at the beginning of the season, and now we have fewer games,” says van Gaal of the early UCL exit. The reduced workload will give the players a chance to recover.”
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