'It's never nice to hurt' - Erik ten Hag reveals his feelings facing his boyhood club FC Twente

The Red Devils will welcome FC Twente of the Netherlands on Wednesday night at Old Trafford in the opening match of their Europa League 2024–25 campaign. The Netherlands-born head coach Erik ten Hag acknowledged before their match that he would have rather not play a team from his home country.

Ten Hag spent seven years during three distinct spells at the club when he started his professional career, therefore he has a sentimental bond with Twente. Conversely, Rene Hake, the 54-year-old's assistant, oversaw the Dutch team for two years, from 2015 to 2017.

He said, "I would have preferred to have played against somebody else [other than Twente]. It's not nice to have to hurt something you love. Well, there's a great deal of connections to and fro between MUFC and FC Twente. Between me and Rene Hake, me and Ruud [van Nistelrooy]. Also, connections forged through the various Ajax players we've all been involved with."

“It’s a part of the game we have to improve” : Erik ten Hag

Manchester United has just five goals in the English Premier League this year, leaving the club with a 0 goal differential. Erik ten Hag has acknowledged that his team has to "kill in the box." Last season, United scored 57 goals throughout the competition, allowing 58. 

They drew 0-0 at Crystal Palace on Saturday in spite of having superior possession (66% to 34%) and generating 15 attempts on goal, six of which went on target, but they were unable to score again. It would be interesting to see how many goals do the English Premier League giants manage tomorrow against FC Twente

The former Ajax manager said, “Concerned? We create a lot of chances in the first games of the season,” Ten Hag said. “Last week we scored seven against Barnsley [in the Carabao Cup], we are capable of scoring many goals, but it’s a part of the game we have to improve and kill in the box.”