By Milcah Tanimu
Manchester United’s manager, Erik Ten Hag, conceded that his team had a stroke of luck in their Champions League encounter against FC Copenhagen on Tuesday night. The Red Devils secured their first win of the season with a 1-0 victory, thanks to a decisive header by Harry Maguire. However, United also owed a debt of gratitude to Andre Onana for his crucial save of Jordan Larsson’s late penalty.
Ten Hag, in an interview with TNT Sports following the match, commented, “It’s undeniably an incredible and memorable night, especially when, in the dying seconds, you concede a penalty, but Andre Onana made a brilliant save.”
He continued, “Both Harry Maguire and Andre Onana played well. Andre had a pivotal save just after half-time. We believed we should have been awarded a penalty for Marcus Rashford, and I’m uncertain why it wasn’t given. It was an onside situation, but the referee didn’t award a penalty. In the end, we managed to handle the situation, and it represents a step forward. A few weeks ago, we were thrown off balance by some questionable decisions by the referee. We had a lackluster first half, but we remained composed, and in the second half, we elevated our game and created more scoring opportunities than our opponents. It was a tense conclusion, to say the least.”
