Every word from Erik ten Hag ahead of Man United’s second leg clash vs Real Betis in Europa League

Erik ten Hag spoke to the media ahead of Manchester United’s trip to Spain to face Real Betis in the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 clash.

The Reds were comfortable victors at Old Trafford last week, with Marcus Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Wout Weghorst scoring in a 4-1 win.

Ten Hag will be keen to produce a solid performance to push United forward in the coming months.

During his pre-match press conference, the Dutchman responded to questions about Alejandro Garnacho’s injury, potential rotation and more.

What’s the severity of Alejandro Garnacho’s injury and when do you expect him back? “I can’t say exactly at this moment but it will take weeks. So it’s a serious injury I didn’t expect. A foul and a serious injury once again, after Christian Eriksen, a serious injury after a contact.”

He initially stayed on after the injury, so what was the process there and did you have any grievance with the tackle? “It was a scissor tackle, so not a good decision after all. It was difficult to make a diagnosis that quickly. I saw him limping and that’s why I took him off. Also, because it was my last opportunity to sub and I had to bring ‘H’ [Harry Maguire] on as well.”

How difficult is it for him to suffer an injury after having a great season? “Of course, it’s difficult. He makes good progression and he was selected by the national team. It was a big moment for him and he was in a really good development. You don’t want to disturb that process. Now we have to step away from it but he will be back before the end of the season. What he has to do now is deal with that, deal with that setback and then work, invest, to get back before the end of the season. Because this season we can win a lot so he has to be ready to get back as soon as possible.”

Why is Antony absent from the squad? “Yes, unwell. Illness.”

Will that give Facundo Pellistri a chance to start? “You will see tomorrow. We have some options. Of course, we have Sancho, we have Elanga, we have Bruno. So we have several options but Pellistri is definitely also one and he is doing really well lately when he came on.”

Do you risk starting Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes considering they are both one yellow card away from European suspension? “No, we play both because it’s a very good opponent. Last week we had a good result but we have to go again and you need your best players. We need a result, we need a win, so then we need our best team.”

Will there be a change in approach for rotation as the season is getting serious and competitions are coming to the end? “It’s always serious and we will play our best team. We have to put up a team that can adapt during the game. We know our opponent can because they have a good team, they have really good players. They have a lot of variations, so we have to be aware of that and we have to be ready to go and battle with them.”

Have you spoken to the Premier League about inconsistencies and is it something you want addressed? “We have the injuries, and we have the red cards. That is the combination. We have had some talks with them. It’s not about the referee, it’s about us. We have to bring our performance and we have to focus on that.”

So did you speak to them after the Southampton game? “I just commented on some decisions and it was clear about Casemiro, and it was the handball, it was the penalty situation with Rashford. It was a penalty situation probably with Bruno. There was the foul and a bad injury on Garnacho so there were wrong decisions, you can discuss it, but now it’s gone. Now we look forward to the next game, to tomorrow’s game and focus on that.”

With how busy the schedule is, will you have to eventually prioritise the Premier League over the Europa League? “I think we can manage. We have players that can recover good between games. So we do that very carefully, and have contact with medical [staff], with performance [staff] on what a player can handle. Also we have a lot of positions where we have double [players] so we can mix it, so when we are going to the final stage of the season, we can bring our best team.”

How close do you think the current team is away from winning the title? “I think we have made good progress. Also, we have to acknowledge there is still a gap. I couldn’t expect that we close that gap that quickly. What we want is we want to win every game, no matter which opponent. I think in all of the games you have seen till now, I think that was our approach. We tried to win every game. Also we have beaten all the top teams so we are capable to do it. So now we have to make the next step to do that more dominant, more consistent. So we have some steps to take. But we know, there is time, we can do it.”

Can you say that with another transfer window, United will be challenging for the title? “You see the competition. I also heard comments from other players and other managers in the Premier League. The Premier League was never as difficult as now, there are so many competitors. It is not a two-horse race. It’s five, six, seven-horse races so you have to be very good if you want to win that league. But we are aiming for that. What we want, so do six, seven more clubs. And they will invest and they will spend big money. And they have great managers, so they have great players. So it’s a lot about details in the end, you can win it. But as I said, we have beaten all the teams in the Premier League so we are capable to do it but we are aware of it at the club and also in the team. We are aware of it, we have some steps to go.”

With United being a couple of injuries away from a ‘crisis’, are you worried about the squad depth? “When you see the whole season, we had some setbacks more, also some shortages of players more. But every time we dealt with it and it’s about the players who are available and every time there was a team on the pitch. But what is true is I think, till now, we had only one game when we had a squad available totally. One game where I could say, ‘okay now I can pick my team [only] for a tactical approach’ and that was perfect. It was against Man City at home. It was the only time in this season. At other times, in every game we had one player suspended, one player is injured, or has illness so we have to deal with it now. Of course, you hope it is like Arsenal. All the time, they have their squad in total available.”

The team has bounced back after losses, can you see the team going unbeaten for the rest of the season? “We have done it after Brentford, we have done it after City, so we are capable of it. But now we have to show it again and don’t think too far ahead. We have to think about game by game. That is the base of our success.”