Erik ten Hag has crashed out of a cup competition with Manchester United for the first time, with Sevilla overturning a two-goal deficit in the first leg to comfortably win the tie by 5-3.
United had gone all the way so far in all tournaments up until this week’s trip to Sevilla but Ten Hag’s men are now out of the Europa League after the embarrassing defeat in Andalusia.
The home side were far superior to United and were thoroughly deserving of the win, with United arguably delivering their worst performance of the season.
Speaking after the game, former United midfielder Paul Scholes argued that despite the nature of United’s exit, the manager will be able to use the performance as he continues to lead the Old Trafford revolution.
"He knows just by looking at that game tonight, probably that first 20 minutes… he needs better players to fill his squad."
Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves believe that Man Utd's defeat vs. Sevilla will have made up Erik ten Hag's mind for the summer…#UEL pic.twitter.com/IuILwA4zMh
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 20, 2023
“As I said before, this has helped him,” Scholes told BT Sport, as seen above.
“This will help him summer-wise. He knows, just by looking at that game tonight for the first 20 minutes, he needs better players to fill the squad.”
Owen Hargreaves, another former United midfielder, was quick to agree with Scholes and
“The thing is as well, you saw Martial,” he said. “In the first game, he played brilliantly. He was probably the best player.
“All of a sudden he’s dropping a little bit deep and then he gets injured and then Weghorst comes on. In the summer, Manchester United desperately need a number nine and I’m sure they’re going to address that.
“The depth is obviously a big thing. But I think Erik ten Hag has done a brilliant job. In the league, they’re in a great spot but today is a difficult one.
“Today is a sore one because it could have been so different. In the first leg, they just gave it away. To be fair, to come to a place like this when you need a result showed how difficult it is.
“That is why these guys have won six Europa Leagues because this stadium and these players grab the occasion and United didn’t do that.”
United will now aim to recover from the latest disappointing result in a big game as Ten Hag switches his focus to this weekend’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
Victory over Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday could potentially set up a mouthwatering final against Manchester City next month.
