Erik ten Hag Says Man Utd Needs More Options In Attack
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has admitted they need more options in the attacking department.
The Red Devils secured a win over Real Sociedad when they faced the Spanish outfit in their final Europa League 22/23 group stage match on Thursday. Man Utd needed to win by at least two goals to finish as Group E, but could only manage a 1-0 victory.
Against Sociedad on Thursday, the Old Trafford-outfit were short of options in the attacking department. Ten Hag’s starting XI had Cristiano Ronaldo, Alejandro Garnacho, Donny van de Beek and Bruno Fernandes forming the front four.
On the bench, they only had Marcus Rashford as an attacking option. Anthony Martial, Antony and Jadon Sancho were absent from the Man Utd squad for the match.
“Antony not available, Anthony Martial not available, Jadon Sancho not available, but I’m really happy with that performance and I hope [Garnacho] can keep the process going.“
Against Sociedad, Man Utd earned all three points courtesy of Garnacho’s goal in the 17th minute. The Argentine youngster sent Man Utd ahead with an emphatic finish after Ronaldo slipped him in.
However, Man Utd failed to find another goal that would have directly taken them to the Europa League round of 16. Instead, they will play a Champions League drop-out in a two-legged play-off for a place in the round of 16.
Against Sociedad, Ten Hag also brought Harry Maguire on for Garnacho as an attacker in the 82nd minute of the match. It was surprising to see Ten Hag deploy the centre-back as an attacking player as Man Utd desperately searched for their second goal.
Ten Hag also explained his decision to play Maguire as an attacker, stating that the England international was subbed on to bring extra offensive players in.
Meanwhile, Manchester United faces Aston Villa in an away fixture in the Premier League this weekend. The Red Devils currently sit fifth in the points table with 23 points from 12 matches. The match between Aston Villa and Man Utd begins at 7:30 pm Indian Standard Time on coming Sunday.
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