Erik ten Hag insists gap between Man Utd and Man City is ‘very small’

Erik ten Hag remains undeterred despite Manchester United’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City in Sunday’s derby at the Etihad. Despite a lackluster performance that saw United register just one shot on goal, compared to City’s 3.15 expected goals (xG), Ten Hag believes the gap between the two Manchester clubs is minimal.

Having lost four out of five Manchester derbies during his tenure as United manager, the Dutchman maintains confidence in his team’s ability to close the distance to their rivals.

Quizzed if the defeat was a reminder of the gap between United and City, Ten Hag said: ‘No I don’t think so, absolutely not.

‘We have many problems now in injuries and still we had an opportunity. A very small margin.

‘We could have scored the second goal. We could have scored the second goal in a debatable moment and in the second debatable moment.

‘You see it is not that big. When we have everyone on board we can be really competitive and also we showed for instance in the [FA Cup] final against them when it can be really close.

‘But don’t forget this, City is, at the moment the best team in the world.’

Meanwhile, Ten Hag feels United can still finish in the Premier League top four despite behind 11 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa with 11 games left.

‘It can be a quick turnaround,’ Ten Hag added. ‘We go to another final [against Everton next Saturday] and try to get closer. We have to go for it. We have to win our games. Fifth position can also be a position for Champions League so we have to fight for it.’