Erik ten Hag makes Europa League admission after Manchester United drop points again

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United needed to defeat Burnley yesterday if they were to have any chance of qualifying for the Champions League at the end of the season.

United are sixth in the Premier League and 13 points behind fourth-place Aston Villa after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Burnley on Saturday afternoon. Unai Emery’s side let a two goal lead slip as they drew with Chelsea last night.

Antony looked to have secured a precious three points for Ten Hag's side when he struck ten minutes from time, but United were made to pay for their plethora of wasted chances when Zeki Amdouni levelled from the spot three minutes from time.

It means the highest United can finish in the league this season is fifth, a position which is highly unlikely to equate to Champions League football due to England’s poor Uefa coefficient.

United have always looked unlikely to qualify for the Champions League as the season has progressed and after the match Ten Hag was asked about the likelihood of playing in the Europa League next season instead.

"That is the facts," he told BBC Match of the Day. "It is not easy to get fourth when you're so far behind. We needed to win. The past few weeks we've got in winning positions and then given it away. The gap is too big in this phase of the season."

What will annoy supporters so much is that United threw away points from a winning position and Ten Hag admits it was 'unnecessary' for his side to lose their grip on proceedings.

He added: "Every team gives up opportunities. But, when it is up to us, it is weird. We created loads of chances as well. We are one of the most dynamic and entertaining teams in the league at this moment. We are creating loads of chances by playing good football. it was unnecessary to lose control. We repaired this at half-time and second half was much better."