Erik ten Hag: Man United belong in Champions League after thrashing Chelsea

Erik ten Hag said Manchester United belong in the Champions League and was happy to guide the club into the competition for next season, although the celebrations on Thursday were soured somewhat by a “serious” injury to winger Antony.

United confirmed their place in the Premier League top four with a convincing 4-1 victory over Chelsea at Old Trafford, moving up to third on 72 points, six clear of Liverpool in fifth with one match remaining.

“It’s really important [to finish in the top four],” Ten Hag said. “This club belongs in the Champions League and it’s not so easy in the Premier League. It’s a tough competition, strong, with a lot of teams competing for that. And we made it, so we make a good season.”

Casemiro opened the scoring in the sixth minute when he headed home a Christian Eriksen free-kick, and the Brazilian was involved in the second goal on the stroke of halftime when his no-look pass opened up the Chelsea defence for Jadon Sancho to square for Anthony Martial.

United should have had more goals to round off a fine night in the second half as Bruno Fernandes smashed against the bar and Eriksen somehow failed to turn in Tyrell Malacia’s cross from point-blank range.

Fernandes did finally get his goal from the penalty spot after the Portuguese midfielder was brought down by Wesley Fofana.

More calamitous Chelsea defending invited Rashford to become the first United player in a decade to score 30 goals in a season.

Fernandes pounced on Fofana’s loose pass and teed up the England international, who needed two attempts to beat Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Man United v Chelsea player ratings

MANCHESTER UNITED PLAYER RATIINGS: David De Gea – 7. Fortunate that Chelsea’s finishing was so poor in the first half following some excellent football. Saved from Hall. Felix shot past him from distance to ruin another clean sheet. Getty

Aaron Wan Bissaka – 7. Through on goal after 51 but ran into players. Strong going forward. Played well again. Linked up well with Antony before he went off. Reuters

Victor Lindelof – 8. Up against it as Chelsea dominated possession in the first half. Robbed Gallagher of the ball after the break and set up Sancho for an attack. Passed well all night and easily controlled Fofana. His partnership with Varane is an effective one. AFP

Raphael Varane – 8. Rarely tested by a poor Chelsea side and didn’t put a foot wrong, but Felix moved to his side with ease before scoring the Chelsea goal. AP

Luke Shaw – 6. United’s defence had problems in the first half and were much better organised in the second. A shame for Shaw that he went off injured at half time. Getty

Christian Eriksen – 7. Free kick found his midfield foil Casemiro for the opening goal. His vision makes moves happen. Class. Getty

Casemiro – 8. Fantastic header where he used the pace on the ball to head past for his seventh goal of the season. Sublime chipped no-look pass to Sancho to set up the second. Man of the match. Again. AFP

Jadon Sancho – 7. Good feet before losing the ball in a first-half attack. Assisted the second with a smart pass to Martial. Calm. Set Fernandes up after the break. AFP

Bruno Fernandes – 7. Struck the bar just after the break after a lovely move. Won the penalty having been clipped by Fofana, then made the conversion look easy as he tapped it wide of Kepa. Won a loose ball back on 78. PA

Antony – 5. Swung a shot wide on 13 and was United’s main attacking threat in the early part of the game before he went down in agony. Stretchered off injured after 29 minutes. A worrying sight. AFP

Anthony Martial – 6. Poor touch when set up by Antony on 18, although Azpilicueta was coming onto him. Led a 22nd minute break from defence. Got the second at the end of a first half where United hadn’t convinced. AP

SUBS: Marcus Rashford (Antony 29’) – 8. Ran 80 yards with the ball to set up Fernandes who tried to pull the ball back. Moved into the centre when Martial went off and became the first United player to score 30 in a decade. EPA

Tyrell Malacia (Shaw 45’) – 6. Booked. AP

Fred (Eriksen on 70) – 6. Full of energy, as ever. Reuters

Alejandro Garnacho (Martial on 70) – 7. Livewire as ever, his shot was saved by Kepa and hit the bar on 90 minutes. EPA

Scott McTominay (Fernandes on 86) – N/A. Almost scored United’s fifth. PA

CHELSEA PLAYER RATINGS: Kepa Arrizabalaga – 6. Provided a good save to deny Garnacho in the 89th minute. Produced decent saves to deny Rashford and Mctominay in added time. Couldn’t have done more to stop any of the home side’s four goals. Getty

Cesar Azpilicueta – 6. Did well to get in front of Sancho and make a clearance before he could sort out his feet early in the game. Made his experience count as he went toe to toe with Rashford in a foot race and came out victorious in the second half. EPA

Lewis Hall – 7. A contender for the Blues’ best player on the night. Should have had an assist in the fourth minute, but Mudryk failed to apply the finish. Brilliant delivery to find Havertz in the 31st minute. Got caught ball-watching in the build-up to Martial’s goal. AP

Wesley Fofana – 2. Should have done better to stop Casemiro from scoring the opener. Gave away the penalty in the second half after he clipped Fernandes’s heel. At fault for the home side’s fourth as his wayward pass across the face of the penalty area was pounced upon by Fernandes. Getty

Trevoh Chalobah – 4. Had a tough time dealing with the runs of Martial and Rashford into the penalty area. Never looked assured on the ball and gave United forwards too much space and time on the ball. AFP

Enzo Fernandes – 7. Chelsea’s best player, as he repeatedly picked out teammates in good positions with precise passes. Played in Gallagher with a brilliant pass through a crowded United penalty area. AP

Conor Gallagher – 6. Excellent first-time pass to find Hall in space in the fourth minute. He had a good chance to bring the away side level on the brink of halftime, but his scuffed effort went wide. EPA

Carney Chukwuemeka – 6. An encouraging performance in Chelsea’s midfield but a lack of cutting edge from the away side’s attackers frustrated his efforts. Getty

Noni Madueke – 5. Can’t be accused of not trying, but it wasn’t the best of outings for Chelsea’s January signing. Tried to make things happen but he looked short of ideas. AP

Mykhailo Mudryk – 4. Another disappointing performance. Missed a glorious chance to open the scoring when he failed to make a proper connection with the ball in the fourth minute. Put De Gea to work with a weak shot just after the restart. EPA

Kai Havertz – 4. Overhit a pass when he could have played Gallagher through on goal in the ninth minute. He should have at least hit the target with his header when he got on the end of Hall’s cross in the 31st minute. AP

SUBS: Joao Felix (Havertz 64′) – 7. Denied by a Lindelof block in the 70th minute. Grabbed a consolation goal for the Blues with a well-taken effort from the edge of the penalty area. AFP

Christian Pulisic (Mudryk 64′) – 5. Got engaged in a needless scuffle with De Gea a few minutes after coming on. Had two good chances to get on the scoresheet but he couldn’t get his efforts past De Gea. AFP

Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chukwuemeka 82′) – N/A. Tried to make an impact after coming on, but he lacked the final pass. Reuters

Hakim Ziyech (Madueka 82′) – N/A. Provided the assist for Chelsea’s consolation with a simple pass infield. AP

David Fofana (Gallagher 82′) – N/A. Had a chance to test De Gea just after coming on but failed to get past Lindelof. AFP

The waste of Chelsea’s season can be summed up by the £10 million loan fee splurged on Joao Felix in January for a few months with little left to play for. But the Portugal international showed a glimmer of his quality with a surging run and low finish for a late consolation that denied David de Gea his 18th clean sheet of the season.

“It was an open game. I think [Chelsea] are already preparing for next season so they were quite relaxed with an open mind,” Ten Hag said. “It’s always difficult to play against and they created chances but also gave away a lot of spaces on the break. To be fair, we should have scored more goals. It’s not my game, it’s too open.

“We have to defend better and not allow them so many chances. And also, in the breaks, we should have scored more. We could be much better but, of course, in the end, we don’t complain about that. We are in the top four and that is the most important tonight, it’s a big compliment for everyone here in this club.”

A ‘serious’ injury to Antony was the only sour note in Manchester United’s win over Chelsea. AFP

While United’s primary Premier League objective has been achieved, Ten Hag and his team still have an opportunity to secure more silverware this season when they face rivals Manchester City in the FA Cup final on June 3.

However, the League Cup holders could be without Antony after the Brazilian winger sustained an injury against Chelsea, and Ten Hag revealed it does not look good. Luke Shaw also picked up a knock and was withdrawn at halftime, although the manager is more positive about the fullback’s fitness.

“It’s difficult always to say, straight after the game, but, yeah, Antony is serious,” Ten Hag told BeIN Sports. “Luke Shaw, we have to see. I don’t think it’s too bad but we have to wait 24 hours. We’ll have a diagnosis and we will know more.

“Everyone has seen [Antony] came off. I can tell you it is serious but we have to wait a minimum 24 hours, then we know probably more about the status of the injury.”