Twente star makes brutally honest Man Utd judgement after ‘school trip’ claims

Goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall has hit back at critics who wrote Twente off before they kicked a ball against Manchester United as pressure ramps up on Erik ten Hag

FC Twente goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall has hit back at sneering critics who described their visit to Manchester United as a “school trip”.

The Dutch side claimed a deserved point in their Europa League league phase opener at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

Sam Lammers scored after 68 minutes to earn a 1-1 draw after Christian Eriksen put United in front. And that result has piled further pressure on United head coach – and Twente legend – Erik ten Hag.

But after some media reports unfairly claimed that taking on United would be a big day out for the Eredivisie club, Unnerstall said their doubters had been firmly proved wrong.

“In recent days you heard some people talking about a school trip,” he told Voetbal International. “You heard things like that here and there. If you play such a match and don’t unjustly take a point, then that is very nice.

“I understand that people quickly look at the money, at the name of a club. But that didn’t count for us. I never had the feeling that we were heading for a much bigger opponent. You shouldn’t think that way.

“We wanted to show what FC Twente can do internationally. And we did that tonight with a very good match.”

Yet the pressure remains high on Ten Hag’s squad, which was significantly boosted in the summer transfer window.

United, who also drew their Premier League game away to Crystal Palace last weekend, return to action against Tottenham in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.

But with the attacking unit so far unable to get into their groove, Ten Hag admitted after the Twente result: “We have to score more goals.

“That is the problem, the key area is to score more goals as a team. We have players across the team who have the ability to score, that is clear.”

United must also play Porto, Fenerbahce, PAOK, Bodo Glimt, Viktoria Pilzen, Rangers and Steaua Bucharest in their Europa League campaign. The top eight sides will go through to the round of 16 in the new format, with those placed ninth to 24th facing off in a seeded play-off round.

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