Erik ten Hag has warned Manchester United not to underestimate Chelsea and has insisted the underperforming Blues are capable of ‘beating anyone’ in the Premier League.
Chelsea have endured a disastrous domestic campaign and sit 11th in the Premier League table, with the west Londoners unable to improve on last season’s mid-table finish despite record-breaking investment.
The Blues dropped points to relegation-threatened Burnley at the weekend, despite the visitors playing more than a half with 10 men at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea next host Manchester United in the Premier League on Thursday night with both clubs in need of a result to keep alive fading hopes of European football.
United are 11 points adrift of the Champions League places as things stand, while Chelsea are five points from a Europa Conference League position. Ahead of the game, Ten Hag said Chelsea are a ‘fantastic team’ despite their struggles this season.
“It’s a tough competition, it’s very tight and also a lot about which players are available and not,” Ten Hag said at his pre-match press conference.
“When you are on the right side of the line you can have a successful season but when on the wrong side you can have a much more difficult season. For the rest they have a fantastic team, fantastic players and play very good football, they can beat anyone and have shown in this league.”
Ten Hag said he was keen for United to bounce back from a disappointing draw at Brentford last weekend. The Red Devils were second-best in west London and conceded a 99th-minute equaliser, shortly after taking the lead, to drop points.
“I am long enough in football to know and some of you should also understand why such things happen. Sometimes you are not playing good but we are Manchester United, you have to win and you cannot give it away like we did, that was the biggest disappointment for me. We keep going.”