Erik ten Hag has delivered his reaction to his side’s 2-0 win over Everton on Saturday, with the Reds converting two penalties in the first half and seeing the game out after the interval.
United were far from convincing in the game, with Everton even having more shots at Old Trafford but the gap to the top four has been cut, with fourth-placed Aston Villa and fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur set to go head-to-head on Sunday.
At this point, it does look unlikely that United will mount a serious challenge for the top four in the final two-and-a-half months of the season but speaking after the win over Everton, the manager sent the sides above United in the table a message, insisting they must put pressure on them to drop points.
"We have to put pressure on the teams above us!"
Erik ten Hag on Man Utd's 2-0 win over Everton and moving forward…
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“In the end, we have to win. Every game is a (must-win),” he told TNT Sports, as seen above.
“He’s (Alejandro Garnacho) progressed very well and we are very pleased with this. His contribution today, again, was huge with his runs, his dribbles, effective as well. For the audience, we want to show something with great dribbles – I think, well-deserved penalties.”
Quizzed further on if he is satisfied with where his side is at right now in terms of development, the boss responded with the following.
“In areas, yes. Especially in our attacks and out counter-attacks, I think we had very good breaks,” he added. “Sometimes, we can make better choices to rest on the ball in such moments when we can’t go for goal.
“We defended very well but in the build-up, I think we can be more calm and composed on the ball. Everton did well, good high pressing but that gives a lot of opportunities in behind and we had very good runs in behind and so we created a lot of chances as well.”
“We had one bad result against Fulham, we had to put that right in this calendar year and keep the pressure on the teams above us, can happen a lot.
“This season, (there are) many games to play. Everyone is killing everyone, now we are back. Keep pressure on them and we will see what happens.”
There is no Premier League action for the Reds next weekend, with Liverpool making the trip to Old Trafford for the quarter-final of the FA Cup. Hopefully, Ten Hag will be able to welcome Rasmus Hojlund back to the side by then.
