Ten Hag insists Ineos has never said Champions League place is minimum requirement this term

UNITED and Tottenham Hotspur had contrasting European nights this week, with FC Twente enthusiastically celebrating a draw at Old Trafford while Spurs coped with an early red card to cruise to victory against Qarabag.

- TYRONE MARSHALL

Never of those results shifted the opinion of bookmakers, who have them as clear favourites to win the Europa League in Bilbao in May.

At that stage this is a tournament that would have got interesting, but for now the one thing that unites United and Tottenham is that this isn’t where they want to be.

While City played Inter last week and Liverpool travelled to AC Milan, these two sides are on the fringes of Europe. A glance at their eight games in the league phase proves that.

Both will feel they belong in the Champions League. Historically, there is a stronger case to be made for United than Spurs deserving a seat at Europe’s top table, but there’s no doubt it is Tottenham who have the stronger pedigree. United have won one of their last nine Champions League fixtures and only two knockout ties since 2011.