'We are not that good' - Erik ten Hag critical of Manchester United 'intensity' despite Onomia Nicosia win
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ByEurosport
Updated 06/10/2022 at 22:27 GMT
Marcus Rashford came off the bench to score twice for Manchester United during their nervy 3-2 win over Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus on Thursday. Despite getting the win, manager Erik ten Hag was not impressed with the performance and felt his side could have played with more "intensity". United were beaten 6-3 by rivals Manchester City at the weekend.
'We are not that good' - Ten Hag eager for Man Utd improvement
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag admitted his side are "not that good" after they edged past Onomia Nicosia 3-2 in Cyprus on Thursday in the Europa League.
United trailed at half-time before the introduction of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial helped inspire a comeback.
The win is a welcome result for United after losing 6-3 to Manchester City at the weekend, but the performance did not satisfy Ten Hag.
"We have to improve every day but also sometimes you fall back and then you have to get up again. And that is what I demand from my squad.
"And so we have to carry on and every time learn the lessons and give the maximum, because only good for me is good enough - and at this moment, by far, we are not that good.
"We have seen on Sunday and we have to do much better. I think the main problem is, and that is what we did in games before much better - intensity. We have to bring every game the intensity on the pitch.
"That was the big difference between City and us, so that is the demand to our squad, to all of our players, you have to take responsibility for that."
Reflecting more on the performance against Onomia Nicosia, Ten Hag added: "The first 30, 35 minutes we played quite well, the only thing was we didn't score a goal.
"When you score a goal, you make your life easy. So we didn't but when you concede a goal, it was the worst ten minutes of the game from us.After half-time I think we dealt well with the setback."
Rashford, who scored twice, admitted that it could have been better from United.
"Job done, but we would have liked to have played better. We didn't defend badly, but we made mistakes,” he told BT Sport.
"The first 35 minutes until they scored we were playing well, we just could have got in behind them more. Then when he made the subs he [Erik ten Hag] wanted us to be more dynamic, take chances going forward and score goals.”
Rashford, who has played centrally and out wide this season also admitted that the left is probably his best position but he’s happy to fill in where needed. He was also full of praise for fellow goalscorer Anthony Martial.
"Left side is probably more natural for me, but I like playing both [left wing and centre forward] and helping the team. If we have got injuries you never know what might happen, where you might be needed to play.
"He [Martial] is a massive player for us, has been for a long time. When he is happy and at it he is an unbelievable player. We've both been injured, him longer than me, so it is good for him to get minutes and make an impact."
A familiar face for British football fans was on the opposing touchline, with former Celtic midfielder and manager Neil Lennon in the Omonia dugout.
Speaking after the game, he said he was surprised that his team scored twice and promised that his team would give it everything in the reverse fixture in Old Trafford.
"We rode our luck a lot of times," he said. "We kept ourselves in the game with good goalkeeping and a lot of Man Utd missed chances. I didn't expect us to score two goals!
"It's going to be a different game at Old Trafford, but we have seen them up close and know what their weaknesses are. We will, go there and give it everything we've got.
“Some of the players will, yeah [have regrets on missed chances]. The first two goals we were too open at centre-half then Bruno misses the chance with the lob.
"There were things we could have done better with ball retention. The gulf between the teams was there, but I'm delighted with two goals."
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