Erik Ten Hag wants his forwards to be more ruthless in front of goal as they begin their Europa League campaign from tomorrow.
Erik Ten Hag implores his misfiring forwards to be less profligate in front of goal ahead of their Europa League opener against Twente.
The manager’s statements come after a goalless draw against Crystal Palace on Saturday. That game seen the Red Devils do everything right. Except put the ball in the back of the net.
Alejandro Garnacho, Joshua Zirkzee, Bruno Fernandes, Lisandro Martinez, and Matthijs de Ligt all missed presentable opportunities to score as Palace held firm.
The manager was asked if he is concerned United’s attack will again fail this season. “Concerned? We create a lot of chances in the first games of the season,” said Ten Hag. “Last week we scored seven against Barnsley [in the Carabao Cup]. We are capable of scoring many goals. But it’s a part of the game we have to improve and kill in the box.”
Ten Hag was asked if his forwards need to sharpen their mental approach. “There are different aspects to this,” said the 54–year-old. “Most important is that you create chances and we create a lot of good moments. We are very creative, we have many opportunities to score goals, keep this process going and [work on] finishing.”
On Wednesday, United will play their first Europa League match under the new, expanded 32-team format against Twente. Ten Hag was questioned on the tournament’s increased significance given that the winners earn a spot in the Champions League.
“Yes – I think it’s an opportunity. There are more roads to achieve the targets you want and this is definitely also a road,” he said. “It’s the most difficult [to do so], probably, in a tournament of 32. You have to be the best but it’s a target, it’s a road we want to go.
“That’s because [most difficult] in the end you can be knocked out. But don’t look too far ahead and as you know we want to win all the competitions and this is one of them.”