Erik ten Hag raised concerns about his players’ mentality, stating that the Dutch team “fought for every inch while we did not” following Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with FC Twente in the Europa League.
United initially took the lead with a goal from Christian Eriksen in the first half, but the tide turned in the second half when Sam Lammers capitalised on a mistake by Eriksen to equalise.
After the match, Eriksen admitted that FC Twente “showed more desire,” a sentiment that Ten Hag echoed in his response.
“Yes, you saw it was the game of their life,” said Ten Hag. “They fought for every yard and we didn’t, and 99 percent is not enough, you have to give 100 percent.
“You have to kill the game, you have to finish it off. You have to go for the second goal, and then you kill the game.
“We are very ambitious, and when you have ambition, you have to perform; prove the point. Especially today in the second half, we were too complacent, we didn’t bring it over the line and as a team.”
Erik ten Hag expressed particular frustration over Manchester United’s inability to capitalise on scoring opportunities. Following their 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace on Saturday, the team managed to take 19 shots against FC Twente but could only find the back of the net once.
This season, the struggle to score has been evident, with United tallying just five goals in their first five Premier League matches.
“We have to work on this,” said Ten Hag. “That’s also clear. We have to be more clinical in such situations, but I don’t think that was the only problem tonight. We have to keep going in the second half. Be more consistent. Kill it off, get the second goal, and the game is over.
“We have across the frontline enough players who can score goals.”