Manchester United are still in contention for Champions League qualification, according to Erik ten Hag, who refutes claims that his team has a “significant gap” to Manchester City.

In Sunday’s Premier League match, Ten Hag’s squad suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of their city rivals, falling to sixth place in the standings eleven points behind fourth-place Aston Villa.

The Premier League could potentially be awarded a fifth Champions League position this season, contingent on the European coefficient. However, United are six points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur, who has a game in hand.

Ten Hag, nevertheless, is confident that his squad is capable of overcoming the points deficit and securing a berth in Europe’s primary club competition for the following campaign.

“Therefore, we have made amends for our predicament in January; a turnaround is possible,” Ten Hag said on Sunday following his team’s defeat at the Etihad.

“We have one more final and must strive to close the gap with them.” Fifth place is also a qualification for the Champions League, so we must strive for victory in every match.”

Ten Hag further discussed the disparity between his squad and their opponents from across the city, who emerged triumphant 3-1 at the Etihad.

Although a long-range strike by Marcus Rashford gave United an early lead, City secured the points through a double from Phil Foden and a goal from Erling Haaland.

Ten Hag replied unequivocally, “Absolutely not,” in response to the question of whether the game emphasized the disparity between the two teams.

“Despite facing numerous ιnjury concerns, we still managed to seize an opportunity.” We could have scored the second goal by an extremely narrow margin in a moment of contention (when Ten Hag asserts that City’s Kyle Walker tripped Rashford prior to the home team’s equalizer).

“We demonstrated our ability to compete when it came down to a tie in the FA Cup final against them, but City is in this moment; remember this; they are the best team in the world.”

A number of United’s starting lineup was absent for the contest, such as Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund, Luke Shaw, and Lisandro Martinez.

Ten Hag’s squad will face Everton at home in a league match on March 9th.

Bruno Fernandes acknowledged that since March 4’s early morning loss to Manchester City, MU’s prospects of qualifying for the top four have become precarious.

“We ought to be looking ahead. Bruno Fernandes stated, “Everything is no longer in Manchester United’s control” in regards to MU’s prospects of finishing in the top four this season.

“I have no desire to evade reality. MU is extremely interested in qualifying for the Champions League. Currently, our efforts are limited to the final round of the season. Everything will be extraordinarily challenging. “For the upcoming match, my teammates and I will make every effort to secure victory,” the MU captain further stated.

Despite their best efforts, MU was unable to overcome the formidable Manchester City squad. At the Etihad, Rashford’s opening goal was insufficient to help the “Red Devils” earn any points. With only eleven rounds remaining in the season, MU had fallen 11 points behind Aston Villa in the top four standings and had lost their eleventh match since the season’s inception. Even if Aston Villa continues to decline, it will be challenging for MU to surpass them with Tottenham, led by coach Unai Emery’s squad with five points in the rear.

Bruno Fernandes continued the interview by acknowledging that Manchester City has players with the ability to decide the outcome of the derby.

“My fellow team members and I are unified in our efforts to safeguard the objective.” “However, the distinction is established through the individual attributes of Manchester City players,” stated the 1994-born midfielder.

After equalizing for Manchester City with an outstanding long-range shot, Phil Foden continued to outshoot Andre Onana with an angled shot, extending the lead to 2-1. Due to an error by Sofyan Amrabat, Erling Haaland also added to the tally in the final minutes.

Manchester City has closed the margin to one point over Liverpool. Anfield will play host to Pep Guardiola and his squad in the subsequent round.