Erik ten Hag admits Man Utd ‘need options’ up front after failing to win Europa League group | Football News

Erik ten Hag admitted Manchester United “need options” up front after they beat Real Sociedad but failed to score enough goals to avoid a Europa League play-off tie.

Already assured of progress from Group E, the second-placed Red Devils arrived in Spain knowing they needed to win by a two-goal margin to usurp the first-placed hosts and progress straight to the round of 16.

Teenager Alejandro Garnacho got them off to a superb start but United lost their way after half-time, with Ten Hag’s alterations ineffective as La Real dug deep in a 1-0 defeat that means they topped the group.

The Reds finish runners-up and will face one of the sides dropping out of the Champions League, with Barcelona, Juventus and Ten Hag’s former club Ajax among the possible opponents in Monday’s play-off draw.

Ten Hag was pleased with Garnacho – who overtook George Best as the club’s youngest non-English goalscorer in major European competition – but says United must work on their effectiveness in the final third.

“We need options,” the Dutchman told BT Sport. “We have problems there.

“Antony not available, Anthony Martial not available, Jadon Sancho not available, but I’m really happy with that performance and I hope he can keep the process going.

“He was a threat, he scored a goal, he was reliable defending so if you can keep this going I’m really happy.”

Such were United’s lack of firepower upfront, Ten Hag brought Harry Maguire on in the 82nd minute as a makeshift striker alongside Cristiano Ronaldo and fellow substitute Marcus Rashford.

Speaking at his post-match press conference, Ten Hag added: “Of course, we always want to be number one. And when we are not we are disappointed about it. But finally, we won tonight. It was a clean sheet. We created some great chances, but we had some problems in the front line.

“It’s clear we have to work on that. We have to score more goals. But in the end it is what it is. I think that within this group we’ve had our opportunities to get a better goal difference. That’s the right analysis.”

Garnacho received a standing ovation following his first start against Sheriff Tiraspol last Thursday and opened his United account with an excellent goal in San Sebastian.

Ten Hag praised the 18-year-old’s “great finish” a week after revealing he had been irked by the teenager’s attitude earlier in the season – a situation Bruno Fernandes expanded on in Spain.

“He was good but he knows we expect a lot from him,” the Portuguese told BT Sport. “Obviously still really young, he’s doing really well.

“At the beginning of the season he was not at his best. In the tour he didn’t have the best attitude that he should have and that’s why he didn’t get his chances until now.

“He is getting his chances because he’s training better, having a different attitude and deserving his chances.”

When is the Europa League play-off draw?

The Europa League play-off draw will be held at 12pm on November 7 at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.

The eight group runners-up from the Europa League will be seeded to face the eight third-placed sides from the Champions League group stage.

The eight group winners from the Europa League miss out on the draw and receive a bye to the round of 16. On February 24, they will be seeded and drawn against one of the eight winners from the play-off round.

However, no two sides from the same national association can be drawn against each other in either the play-off round or round of 16.

What’s next for Man Utd?

Manchester United have three more fixtures before the World Cup. They return to Premier League action on Sunday when they travel to Aston Villa (kick-off 2pm). United then face Unai Emery’s side again in the EFL Cup at Old Trafford on November 10, live on Sky Sports (kick-off 8pm).

United’s final match before the tournament in Qatar sees them make the trip to Fulham in the Premier League on November 13, also live on Sky Sports (kick-off 4.30pm).