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Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has heaped praise on his players after Manchester United edged out a 4-3 win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. The Dutchman highlighted how his squad was affected a lot by injuries this season and hit back at criticism of his players' character.
Speaking to the media after the win over Liverpool at Old Trafford, Ten Hag opened up about the injury setbacks suffered this season (via MEN):
"I don't understand why people question the character of the team. They are great characters. If you look at this season, we have had so many setbacks with players dropping out. Yesterday, Jonny Evans dropped out at the last minute and we bring in a player who didn't play for four or five weeks and only had one or two training sessions but Wan-Bissaka played so well. It was difficult to adjust when we had all the injuries. Still we have a lot of injuries but now we can deal with it."
Apart from Jonny Evans, Casemiro was also a last-minute issue for Manchester United. The Brazilian was ruled out of the Liverpool clash and will also miss Brazil's upcoming matches against England and Spain. Ten Hag said:
"It does [affect us] because Casemiro is very experienced and a very important player for us in organisation, also on the ball, he brings composure to the team and he can bring great passes to bring our frontline into great positions, especially with the three with their immense speed."
Amad Diallo and Antony came off the bench to help the Red Devils win 4-3 at home and seal a place in the FA Cup semifinal. They face Coventry City at Wembley next month and will be eying a spot in the final, where they will face one of Chelsea or Manchester City.
Erik ten Hag set sights on winning the FA Cup with Manchester United
Erik ten Hag has stated that Manchester United are keen on winning the FA Cup this season. He admitted that winning a silverware is important for the club and said:
"Winning a trophy is more important. Maybe this day can be very important to win another trophy. I am pleased with the performance, the first 35 minutes we showed again that the future of this team is very bright. There is huge potential and now we have to get it out and get the consistency. You knew Liverpool would get back in the game and they are a very good team but in turn we showed determination to then get back into the game."
Manchester United are not in any European competition after getting knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in the group stage. They are in the race for a top-four finish in the Premier League, sitting at sixth, nine points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.
