Erik ten Hag says Manchester United are back where they belong after securing a return to the UEFA Champions League for 2023/24.
Man Utd confirmed a top-four finish with a 4-1 win over Chelsea on Thursday, moving up to third and out of reach of Liverpool no matter what happens in the final round of Premier League fixtures on Sunday.
“It was our objective and we achieved it,” Ten Hag said after taking the club back to the competition they have won three times but were not in this season.
“It’s huge, especially in this league because there are many competitors with the same objective. This was the most important, to get back into the Champions League, this club belongs there. We had to fight for it but we did it. Now we can focus on more.”
The “more” Ten Hag refers to is the FA Cup, which United can now turn their attention to as they look to win it for the first time since 2015/16.
Standing in their way are Premier League champions and Champions League finalists, Manchester City, against whom they will have extra motivation, hoping to end their rivals’ hopes of being the first English team to win the treble since Man Utd themselves did so in 1998/99.