(Reuters) – Manchester United suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester City, dropping 18 points behind their cross-town rivals. Despite the loss, United manager Erik ten Hag believes there is no significant difference in quality between the two teams.
The match saw Marcus Rashford scoring an early goal for United, but two goals from Phil Foden and a late strike from Erling Haaland secured the victory for Pep Guardiola’s side, who are now just a point behind league leaders Liverpool.
United are on course to finish below City for the 11th consecutive season, but when asked about the disparity in performance, Ten Hag stated, “No I don’t think so, absolutely not. We have many problems now in injuries and still we had an opportunity. By a very small margin. We could have scored the second goal. You see it (the gap) is not that big.”
Ten Hag highlighted that when United have all their players available, they can be highly competitive, pointing out their close encounter with City in the FA Cup final. However, he also acknowledged City’s current status, stating, “City is, at the moment, the best team in the world.”
As the sixth-placed team in the Premier League, United will now face Everton in their next fixture on Saturday. The team will be looking to bounce back from their defeat and secure a positive result in their upcoming match.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
