Erik Ten Hag Hails Man United Players After Away Draw Against Barcelona

After watching his club compete in an exhilarating first-leg draw against Barcelona, Erik ten Hag said Manchester United “had a lot of heart and drive” and that their Europa League play-off match was in a very tight balance.

Manchester United and FC Barcelona are now attempting to bounce back to glory through the Europa League years after competing against each other in two Champions League finals, both of which Barcelona won.

In the Europa League match at the Nou Camp on Thursday night, United came from behind to almost claim the three maximum points.

After Raphinha’s corner kick, Marcos Alonso’s back post header gave coach Xavi’s team the lead. However, the in-form Marcus Rashford quickly scored the equalizer for United at the near post.

In the 59th minute, Rashford’s cross was deflected into Barca’s net by Barcelona defender Jules Kounde which gave the Premier League side the lead. From that point, it looked like United will run away with an away win.

However, in the 76th minute, former Leeds winger Raphinha broke United’s hearts with his stunning shot which United was unable to stop. Casemiro was so close to clearing the ball off the goal line but his effort was not enough. Hence, the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

After the game, Coach Ten Hag described the Europa League match between the two European giants as a Champions League game.

“I think it was a great game. Two attacking teams, I think it was a Champions League game, even more than that, so I enjoyed the game. In the end (it finished) 2-2, and we have to finish it in Old Trafford”, he told BT Sport.

“Of course, I will credit Rashford definitely because he is in great form, but the whole team did well. I think it was a really good team performance.

“We have a lot of character and determination in this team. The belief we had to score the first goal and the meaning of the first goal is so important and that’s what we didn’t do.”

On Thursday, February 23, Manchester United will host FC Barcelona at Old Trafford for the return leg of the Europa League playoff. The winner of the match will scale through to the next round of the competition.