MANCHESTER, England — Manchester United like to think of themselves as one of Europe’s elite. A club that not only should be competing in the UEFA Champions League, but challenging to win it.
Yet this season — again — they’re in the UEFA Europa League. And after drawing 1-1 with FC Twente on Wednesday, they looked every inch the Europa League team.
The Dutch side, currently sitting fourth in Eredivisie and among the lowest seeds in the competition, were thrilled with their point and the 4,000 supporters inside Old Trafford celebrated like they’d won.
On another night they might have done. Dangerous on the break, particularly during a spell on top after their equaliser midway through the second half, they left Manchester good value for what their coach, Joseph Oosting, called an “important result” for Dutch football. This wasn’t a Twente smash-and-grab. United should have won but could have lost.
If nothing else it was a timely warning for United manager Erik ten Hag ahead of three crucial games against Tottenham Hotspur, FC Porto and Aston Villa before the next international break. If they don’t go well, the questions around Ten Hag’s position will begin to swirl again.
He said in the build-up he didn’t want to play his former club because “it’s not nice to have to hurt something you love.” In the end, it was Twente who inflicted the pain.
“You saw it was the game of their life,” said Ten Hag. “They fought for every yard and we didn’t and 99% is not enough, you have to give 100%. You have to kill the game, you have to finish it off.
“We are leading 1-0 and then there is coming an atmosphere in their team. We bring the game until the end but you have to go for the second goal and then you kill the game.”
Europa League football in his third year at Old Trafford probably wasn’t on Ten Hag’s bingo card but, like it or not, he needs Europe’s secondary club competition this season. Under lingering pressure after finishing eighth in the Premier League last season, he’s smart enough to know that he’s not in a strong enough position to throw away any competition.
And while he might have been keen to rest key players like Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes against Twente ahead of the visit to Tottenham on Sunday, he couldn’t take the risk. In the second half, he was forced to throw on Rasmus Højlund and Mason Mount, both on their way back from injuries, as he went in search of a winner.
Despite starting with a draw, United should still progress through the newly-installed league phase. Maybe by the time the knockout rounds begin in February, Ten Hag’s team will be so well positioned in the Premier League that Europe slips down the list of priorities.
For now, though, there isn’t that luxury. He needs results and performances in every competition, particularly one that offers the chance to get back into the Champions League.
Returning to Europe’s top table alongside the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Manchester City is surely the minimum requirement in Ten Hag’s first year under his new INEOS bosses.
To do that, he needs to get more goals out of his team. After drawing a blank in the goalless draw at Crystal Palace on Saturday, United had 19 shots against Twente but only had Christian Eriksen‘s first-half goal to show for it. Their record in the league is five in five games.
“We have to work on this,” said Ten Hag.
“That’s also clear. We have to be more clinical in such situations but I don’t think that was tonight the only problem. We have to keep going in the second half, be more consistent. The structure of the team is also a question of mentality. Kill it off, get the second goal and the game is over.”
United are among the early favourites to win the Europa League this season. With no teams dropping down from the Champions League after Christmas in the new format, the biggest challenge is expected from Tottenham, AS Roma and Eintracht Frankfurt.
There’s nothing there that will worry Ten Hag too much and you can make a case that winning 15 games to lift the Europa League is an easier task than qualifying for the Champions League by finishing in the Premier League’s top four.
Manchester City and Arsenal are the best two teams in the country and should finish first and second. Then there’s Liverpool, Tottenham, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Newcastle and United battling it out for another two spots. It’s possible the Premier League could be handed a fifth place with one of the European performance slots, but it’s not guaranteed.
By the end of the season, Ten Hag will hope that United can once again call themselves a Champions League team, however, they get there. Before then, he will have to embrace the Europa League. In earning a creditable draw at Old Trafford, Twente proved that, for now, United belong there.