Erik ten Hag lamented how he “did not recognise” his Manchester United side in their painful Europa League exit at the hands of Sevilla – but praised how the team has responded to that setback.
United were outclassed in an error-strewn performance against a side in the lower half of La Liga as their impressive European campaign ended with a whimper in the Andalusian city. Just three days later, Ten Hag’s side showed their resilience as they beat Brighton in their FA Cup semi-final.
The Seagulls were hugely impressive in an evenly-balanced encounter which could have gone either way, but neither side were able to find the net. United were almost unrecognisable from their loss in Seville, putting in a performance of balance and coherence.
The calamitous showing in Spain was not the first time United endured a horror show this season, with their four-goal loss at Brentford, 6-3 defeat at Manchester City and most notably, their seven-goal defeat at Anfield. Yet on each occasion they have bounced back, and the same was true on Sunday as they progressed to their second domestic cup final of the campaign.
"On Thursday I saw a team I didn't recognise but today we went back to usual," Ten Hag told BBC Sport after Sunday’s game. "I could see determination and resilience. We fought for every yard and competed in every battle. We had good chances."
The loss in Seville was particularly hard on goalkeeper David de Gea, who inadvertently played a role in all three of Sevilla’s goals. Yet he also responded against Brighton, keeping a clean sheet to help United progress.
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"I was very impressed with him," Ten Hag said of his goalkeeper. "He made some brilliant saves. It hurt when he made mistakes on Thursday. Often when you make mistakes as a keeper you get punished. We let him down, we didn't fight back for him. We bounced back today though."
United’s dream of a treble of cup competitions this season may be over but having landed the club’s first piece of silverware in six years with their EFL Cup success in February, the Red Devils have enjoyed their football at Wembley this campaign and will return for the final in June.
Ten Hag said on the possibility of stopping finalists Manchester City winning the treble, which would replicate United’s infamous 1999 success: "I understand the feeling from the Man United fans about it. We will do everything to give them that. We will give everything, then it is everything. More than 100 per cent you can't do. The fans can rely on that."
