According to midfielder Christian Eriksen, Manchester United must continue to fight on numerous fronts under Erik ten Hag before they can win trophies.
The Red Devils defeated Burnley 2-0 on Wednesday to advance to the EFL Cup quarterfinals, where they will face third-tier Charlton Athletic.
Ten Hag’s team is still competing in the Europa League, even though Barcelona is the next opponent in the play-offs for the knockout round, and their FA Cup run gets underway against Everton next month.
Since they haven’t won a trophy since winning the Europa League in the 2016–17 season, Eriksen acknowledges that United are unable to give particular competitions priority.
Eriksen’s statement
“It’s been a few years since winning a trophy the last time,” Eriksen, who arrived at United as a free agent in July, told talkSPORT.
“From where the club were to where we are now, the aim is to focus on every competition and see where we are in the end.
“It hasn’t specifically been said that we have to win this or win that – all of the players just want to win as much as possible.
“But to get there we first need to prove that we deserve to be there. It’s about every tournament. Like you saw against Burnley, even the [EFL Cup] is important for us.”
At Old Trafford, Eriksen started the scoring against Burnley and played the full 90 minutes. Marcus Rashford then doubled United’s advantage in the second half.
United hadn’t played for six weeks due to the World Cup break, during which Eriksen’s underwhelming Denmark team was eliminated early from the Qatar 2022 tournament.
As the Premier League resumes, fifth-placed United will play Nottingham Forest, Wolves, and Bournemouth all within a week. Eriksen is happy to be back on the field.
“I think it’s nice to be back,” he said. “It was important to get through to the next round in the cup and get the feeling of everyone being back and getting the win.”