Recap: Manchester United vs Chelsea 1:4 (Sport1)
After a volatile and challenging season, Manchester United can tick off one of their most important goals. Thursday's convincing 1-4 victory over Chelsea finally secured the Red Devils' ticket to the Champions League, returning them to European football's big stage after one year.
Goals from Casemiro (6), Anthony Martial (45+6), Bruno Fernandes (73) and Marcus Rashford (78) sealed the big win for Erik ten Hag (Joao Felix only shrank in the 89th minute) and made him begin to sum up his first season as United manager, which in the test of results already looks like success. Ten Hag guided United to the League Cup, led them to the FA Cup final and eventually brought them back to the Champions League. Under him, Old Trafford has also returned to being a fortress, and the team is already counting 28 consecutive home games without defeat. But for the coach, this is just the beginning.
"In terms of the goals we set for our first season here, I think we met them. Of course we want more, much more. We want to make Manchester United the best team in the world," the Dutch coach said at the end of yesterday. Ten Hag explained that in his opinion, "Given the strength of the Premier League and the situation in which we started the season, fourth place is more or less like winning the title. That was our main goal this season, and we achieved it."
This is just the beginning. Ten Hag (Photo: Reuters)
However, he explains that in order to continue to progress and work their way back to the top of the world, United need to make some improvements in the summer. "If we want to compete at the highest levels of Europe, we definitely need better players. What we have at the moment is not enough," Ten Hag added with a wink to management.
The manager said talks about extending the contract of Marcus Rashford, who reached 30 goals this season yesterday and became the first United player to reach that number in a single season since Robin van Persie a decade ago, are in advanced stages. "We're working on it, and I have a good feeling it's going to happen soon. Marcus wants to stay with the team, and of course we want him," he said.
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Manchester United thrashed Chelsea 1-4 to secure a Champions League place
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On the way to a new contract. Rashford celebrates (Photo: Reuters)
Bruno Fernandes added after the win: "Champions League qualification? That's not a bad achievement, but certainly not perfect. We want to go much further than that." On the fact that United's victory finally shelved Liverpool's Champions League ambitions next season, Fernandes said: "There's no doubt that we made a lot of fans happy with the news that Liverpool won't be there, but the truth is that we look at ourselves, and concentrate on our achievement."
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