Erik ten Hag and Bruno Fernandes were both in agreement over what Manchester United must achieve after Manchester City’s Premier League win on Sunday.
Manchester City walked away with the ultimate bragging rights from the Manchester derby after mounting a 3-1 comeback win against the Red Devils at the Etihad.
Manchester United started the Premier League showdown well and they stunned their crosstown rivals after Marcus Rashford opened the scoring inside 10 minutes.
Despite Marcus Rashford’s thunderbolt strike, the Red Devils were unable to hold on to – or extend – their lead and City produced a superb comeback in the second half.
Phil Foden pulled back an equaliser for City in the 56th minute before the 23-year-old England midfielder put Pep Guardiola’s men into the lead in the 80th minute.
Erling Haaland then struck in injury time to seal a 3-1 win at the Etihad, with City picking up three important points in their Premier League title race this season.
READ MORE: Man Utd player ratings v City, Marcus Rashford stands out but one player gets 3/10
Fernandes sets out Man Utd objective
Despite the defeat to Manchester City, Manchester United fans did praise Andre Onana for his performance after the former Ajax and Inter Milan star impressed.
Red Devils supporters also singled out two other players who deserved a lot better after Erik ten Hag’s men suffered their second consecutive Premier League defeat.
United face a massive task of climbing into the Premier League top four after their loss to City at the Etihad and their 2-1 defeat to Fulham at Old Trafford last month.
The Red Devils are now 11 points behind fourth-place Aston Villa after 27 matches played, with United currently sixth in the Premier League table.
Speaking after the City match, Bruno Fernandes said there is still a “long way” until the season is done and believes that Champions League football can be attained.
“Every time you don’t win a game it is a damage at this club,” he told Sky Sports, as per BBC Sport.
“We know what this club demands and we want to win the games we are involved in.
“We didn’t get the three points today but there’s still a long way to go.
“We know it is not everything in our hands because other teams have to lose points but we have to do our job.”
Ten Hag agrees with Man Utd star Fernandes
Ten Hag, much like Fernandes, has refused to rule out that United could still secure Champions League football before the current campaign is out.
The United boss insisted that his side must “fight” for a place in Europe’s top-tier club competition and said that a fifth-place finish could still happen for his side.
Speaking to Sky Sports (via BBC Sport), Ten Hag said: “This year on we are really progressing and you have to get some points back.
“Everyone can beat everyone and things can quickly turn around.
“Number five [fifth position in the league] can also be a position for [the] Champions League, so we have to fight for it!”
READ MORE: Join the conversation with the United in Focus Whatsapp group
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
