Erik ten Hag takes responsibility as Manchester United stare down Champions League exit - 'It's always me'

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has said he will take responsibility if his team exits the UEFA Champions League in the group stage.

United have endured an underwhelming campaign in Europe, taking just four points from five games.

Their misery was compounded by a 3-3 draw against Galatasaray in Istanbul on Wednesday, despite twice leading by two goals.

To reach the knockout stages from Group A, United must defeat Bayern Munich at Old Trafford in their final game and hope that Copenhagen and Galatasaray draw their fixture.

If this set of results does not play out, as seems most likely, Ten Hag told TNT Sports that he would be to blame for the early exit.

"It's always me, and I'm responsible for this," he said. "But also, we know we are in a project, and we are making improvements, so that's very hopeful. We are in the right direction.

"I know where we have to go, which steps we have to take, and I'm sure we will be successful in the long term. If we want to stay in the Champions League, we have to win the next game."

United had been 2-0 up within 20 minutes after goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes, but conceded a free-kick from Hakim Ziyech before half-time.

Scott McTominay restored his team’s two goal cushion with a fine finish in the 55th minute, but United then blew their lead. Andre Onana made a mess of another Ziyech free-kick just after the hour mark, before Kerem Akturkoglu scored Galatasaray’s equaliser 10 minutes later.

Ten Hag admitted United’s defending was "not good enough" and said they "couldn’t afford such mistakes". But he still found positives in his team’s performance.

"We will fix that [the defensive mistakes]," he said. "I'm very pleased with the style of this team – proactive, dynamic, brave.

"I was really pleased with the performance, and we created so many chances. In the end, we could have won this game."

Fernandes was more scathing about United’s performance. The captain told TNT Sports that his team needed to "step up".

"I'd say it's too bad to be honest," he said. "I don't want to be too negative, but what we've been doing in the Champions League is not enough."

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