Christian Eriksen bluntly admitted FC Twente looked like they had more desire to win in their 1-1 draw with Manchester United in the Europa League.
United’s European campaign got off to a sluggish start at Old Trafford on Wednesday night after Sam Lammers struck to cancel out Eriksen’s first-half opener.
Eriksen had pounced on a loose ball and swept into the top corner – his third goal in a week – but the hosts were guilty of making several sloppy errors before Lammers tucked a neat finish inside Andre Onana’s near post on 68 minutes.
Raucous celebrations in the away end greeted the final whistle while the under-fire Erik ten Hag was forced to settle for a sole point against his former club.
Speaking post-match, Eriksen made a startling claim about United’s limp display.
Christian Eriksen claimed FC Twente wanted to win more than Manchester United
United were pegged back in their Europa League opener after Sam Lammers’ equaliser
FC Twente celebrated their point wildly with a raucous away contingent at Old Trafford
‘I think we’re mostly disappointed as a team,’ he told TNT Sports. ‘Obviously, we wanted more but in the end, it was far from good enough.
‘Personally, you score a goal and you think it is going to be a match winner but it goes the other way.
‘It’s been said also in the changing room, I think they looked like they wanted it more than us and that can’t be right. Everyone is looking at themselves.
‘Everyone is a professional footballer. They know what to do and know what can’t happen in a game like today. We don’t lose but it feels like a loss and that’s something that at home against Twente can’t happen.’
Ten Hag rued his side’s inability to score a second goal and kill off the game.
He told TNT Sports: ‘We gave them a life, 1-0 up controlling the game, we have to be consistent, keep going in the second half.
Eriksen opened the scoring in the first half, his stunning strike finding the top corner
The under-fire Erik ten Hag was forced to settle for a sole point against his former club
‘We dropped the level and gave a goal away.
‘We didn’t finish it off, we had to go for the second goal. They stay alive and we get punished by a mistake by ourselves.
‘The goal is the team. A player from Twente can dribble the whole pitch without anyone stopping him. You cannot concede a goal like this.’
