“He’s doing well, but I think there’s much more room for improvement for him, because he has so many skills” – Ten Hag lavishes praise on Manchester United star after Sheriff win
Erik ten Hag was full of praise for Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho after his team's 2-0 win over FC Sheriff in Moldova on Thursday, September 15.
The English forward opened the scoring in the first-half of the Red Devils' Europa League tie with a smart finish. Cristiano Ronaldo buried a penalty to claim his first goal of the season and help Manchester United bounce back from last week's defeat to Real Sociedad with a comfortable win at Sheriff.
Two goals. Three points ✅
#MUFC || #UEL
Sancho endured a difficult debut season at Old Trafford as he netted just five times in 38 appearances following his big-money move from Borussia Dortmund last summer. But the England international has already scored three times in his eight appearances under Ten Hag, and the Dutch boss has been impressed by the forward.
After the game, Ten Hag discussed Sancho and his team's overall display, as he told MUTV (as per The People's Person):
“After the first 10 minutes we found our formation, we were more secure, we had some good movements on the ball in the middle of the park, we kept the ball and in right moments we split up, we make a great goal with Jadon Sancho.”
Ten Hag further added:
“I’m really pleased (for Sancho). Another goal, he’s doing well, but I think there’s much more room for improvement for him, because he has so many skills.”
🗣 Erik ten Hag: “After the first 10 minutes we found our formation, we were more secure, we had some good movements on the ball in the middle of the park, we kept the ball and in right moments we split up, we make a great goal with Jadon Sancho.” [@lauriewhitwell]
Erik ten Hag believes Cristiano Ronaldo is 'totally committed' to the Manchester United project
After it became public knowledge that Ronaldo wanted to leave Old Trafford this summer, the forward has found starts hard to come by.
The clash in Moldova was only his third start of the season as he bagged his first goal of the Ten Hag era from the penalty spot. Speaking about the Portugal captain, the former Ajax boss spoke in glowing terms after the final whistle, as he stated (as per The Manchester Evening News):
"He’s totally committed to this project, totally committed to this team, totally involved, he also has connections that are coming around him and he is constructing connections so I’m happy with that."
The manager also stated that missing Manchester United's pre-season has been a factor in Ronaldo missing game time, as he proclaimed:
"We could expect this when you miss pre-season, he has to work really hard and invest to get the right fitness. He will score more goals. He’s really close, when he gets more fitness he will score more."
Cristiano Ronaldo gets his first ever Europa League goal 👏 https://t.co/cjKx523Mmb