Erik ten Hag insists gap between Man Utd and Man City is ‘very small’ despite losing his fourth derby out of five

Erik ten Hag’s side had just one shot on target vs Man City (Picture: Getty)

Erik ten Hag has insisted that the gap between Manchester United and Manchester City is ‘very small’ following Sunday’s derby at the Etihad.

The Red Devils had just one shot on goal – with an overall xG of 0.19 compared to City’s 3.15 – as Pep Guardiola’s side came from behind to secure a 3-1 victory.

Ten Hag has lost four of his five Manchester derbies as United manager but the Dutchman is adamant that his side are not too far behind their noisy neighbours.

Quizzed if the defeat was a reminder of the gap between United and City, Ten Hag said: ‘No I don’t think so, absolutely not.

‘We have many problems now in injuries and still we had an opportunity. A very small margin.

‘We could have scored the second goal. We could have scored the second goal in a debatable moment and in the second debatable moment.

‘You see it is not that big. When we have everyone on board we can be really competitive and also we showed for instance in the [FA Cup] final against them when it can be really close.

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‘But don’t forget this, City is, at the moment the best team in the world.’

Meanwhile, Ten Hag feels United can still finish in the Premier League top four despite behind 11 points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa with 11 games left.

‘It can be a quick turnaround,’ Ten Hag added. ‘We go to another final [against Everton next Saturday] and try to get closer. We have to go for it. We have to win our games. Fifth position can also be a position for Champions League so we have to fight for it.’

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