UEL 2022-23: 'Ronaldo had an impact in this game' - Ten Hag after United's win over Omonia
On Thursday, Manchester United defeated Omonia Nicosia 3-2 in the UEFA Europa League. Cristiano Ronaldo struggled to score his 700th club goal. However, Erik ten Hag hailed him for making an impact.
FollowEnglish giants Manchester United did not have the most leisurely day out during its UEFA Europa League (UEL) 2022-23 clash against Omonia Nicosia away from home on Thursday. Although the visitors managed to walk away with a 3-2 win, they were constantly threatened by the hosts. Moreover, Portuguese sensation Cristiano Ronaldo's struggle in the ongoing season continued, as he failed to score. Although he came up with an assist, he could not convert his chances, even catering to him. Regardless, the Red Devils' head coach Erik ten Hag, was all praise for him and asserted that he did make an impact in the tie.
When asked about Ronaldo's struggle, ten Hag said during the post-match presser, "I think they [Omonia] were on target as well. The first two were good saves from the goalie, so he had a couple of chances and created a couple of chances. He was involved in a good run with the first goal for Marcus Rashford, so he had an impact in this game. I think we created many chances tonight, we count them only in the first half already 14, so there was a lot of threat to the opponent's goal."
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As for the match, ten Hag was asked about his pep talk in the dressing room after trailing 0-1 at half-time. "More runs. We were too static. We had to move to get behind, so we made two subs. The subs had a brilliant impact. That makes the team stronger," he revealed to BT Sport.
"We started well, with a couple of chances. Then an unnecessary mistake and an awful ten minutes. We have to learn from that. We let the crowd come alive, and you must avoid that," added ten Hag. He was also delighted to have Anthony Martial back after an injury break, as he scored the winner on Thursday.
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"It was a big disappointment for this team and me when he got injured in the last 10 minutes against Atletico Madrid [during the pre-season tour]. We missed him in the first couple of weeks, which also affected our team performance," ten Hag concluded. United takes on Omonia in the return leg at Old Trafford next Thursday.
