MANCHESTER: In his first year as manager of Manchester United, Erik ten Hag has had some difficulties. If the 20-time league winner is to regain its previous glory, there is still much work to be done. But with a 4-1 victory over Chelsea on Thursday night in front of a raucous Old Trafford crowd, Ten Hag fulfilled what he called his "main objective" of getting back into the Champions League.
Despite being a fantastic season, he added, "the season is not over yet." "You have to qualify in the first four because this club belongs in the Champions League." We had a successful Premier League campaign. A really good season, in my opinion.
Marcus Rashford, Casemiro, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes, and other goals propelled United to victory, ensuring a top-four finish. Prior to the season's last game, United climbed up to third place and two points ahead of Newcastle.
Ten Hag's situation might improve even further when he won the League Cup in February, his first prize. On June 3 at Wembley, United will compete against Manchester City in the FA Cup final.
Ten Hag's impact: The Champions League qualifying has been the ultimate yardstick by which his predecessors have been assessed throughout the difficult ten years since legendary former manager Alex Ferguson retired, even though winning a trophy adds gloss to an excellent debut season under the Dutch coach.
Following their failure to earn a spot in the premier league of European football, David Moyes and Louis van Gaal lost their jobs. When the team's performance put qualification in severe jeopardy, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer left. Ten Hag was hired last year to change United's fortunes, and despite his challenges in an eventful debut season in English football, he has succeeded in doing so. Casemiro and Martial's goals in the first half set United on course for the victory against Chelsea, which assured there wouldn't be a late slip-up to let in archrival Liverpool. United needed just a point from its final two games of the season.
Liverpool will finish fifth and secure a spot in the Europa League thanks to United's victory, which Mohamed Salah deemed unacceptable. In a tweet, the Liverpool forward said he is "devastated."
The joyful scenes at Old Trafford were a far cry from recent humiliating defeats, including a 6-3 loss to Manchester City and a 7-0 thrashing by Liverpool.
Prior to his bitter departure in November, Cristiano Ronaldo publicly criticised the team. In addition, crucial players including Anthony Martial, Christian Eriksen, and Lisandro Martinez also had injuries.
The former Ajax coach has maintained his attention on the goal of finishing in the top four and his long-term plan to restore a team that has been in decline since Ferguson's departure.
After Pep Guardiola's squad won its fifth league championship in as many seasons this year, Ten Hag used the occasion to warn United that it is still some distance from challenging City's dominance in the Premier League.
In the summer, when a top striker will be his first objective, he wants support in the transfer market. It's a fantastic foundation to build upon, but the standards and expectations must increase, he said. "With this squad, we must work throughout the summer as well as throughout the window. See if you can make the team stronger.
We have a lot of work to accomplish because we are currently far away. We make growth as a club and as a squad, but if we want to compete at the highest levels, we need better players. On Thursday, United defeated Chelsea easily.
Misses by Chelsea: Casemiro headed in Christian Eriksen's free kick in the sixth minute to give them the lead. them needed a point from its final two games to qualify for the Champions League.
Prior to that, Chelsea should have taken the lead thanks to Mykhaylo Mudryk, but the $108 million acquisition absolutely flopped with just custodian David de Gea to beat.
In the final seconds of the first half, Martial extended United's advantage, and in the 73rd minute, Fernandes scored a third from the penalty spot after being fouled by Wesley Fofana.
When the defender's careless ball was intercepted and substitute Rashford added a fourth five minutes later, things for Fofana and Chelsea only got worse.
Another option for Late in the game, as United looked for another, Alejandro Garnacho hit the crossbar.
Despite Chelsea's substitute Joao Felix's consolation goal in the 89th minute, the Londoners had yet another wretched night as they have now dropped eight of their previous ten games under interim manager Frank Lampard.
The club is having a rough year, according to Lampard. "It's crucial to identify the causes of improvement," Ten Hag's assessment of Antony's first-half injury as serious caused alarm for United, and Luke Shaw had to be substituted at the break.
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