NOT GOOD ENOUGH!
Ole says Europa glory should be least of United’s ambitions
WHEN Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke from Manchester United’s training camp at Viktoria Koln this week, he did not sound like a manager who believes the club has found its true level in Europe.
‘Reaching semi-finals is a good effort — decent — but it’s not good enough for Man United,’ he said after setting up tomorrow’s Europa League semi-final against Sevilla here.
For Solskjaer, winning this competition would be a great way to lift his first trophy as United manager. Possibly the greatest moment of his career, he has even suggested.
But the Norwegian knows more than anyone where United belong. A Champions League hero in 1999, he led the club to a stunning win in Paris to reach the quarter-finals last year and has secured a place back among Europe’s elite next season.
No one should underestimate a club with Sevilla’s pedigree in the Europa League. They have won this trophy five times in the past 14 years and are on a 19-game unbeaten run in all competitions. But Solskjaer is aware that victory tomorrow should be the least of United’s ambitions as he looks to guide the club back to the top.
Compare that with the attitude of his predecessor, Jose Mourinho, when United met the same opponents in March 2018, going out at the last-16 stage after managing just three shots on target over two legs and losing 2-1 at Old Trafford. Afterwards, a sniffy Mourinho said that Champions League failure was ‘nothing new’ for United.
If that comment could have been blamed on heat- of-the-moment frustration, he waited another three days to launch his infamous ‘ heritage’ rant about the club’s track record while lauding Se villa’ s credentials.
‘Football heritage and what a manager inherits is that the last time Manchester United won the Champions League, which didn’t happen a lot of times, was in 2008. The last final was 2011,’ said Mourinho, who was gone nine months later.
‘In seven years with four different managers, once not qualified for Europe, twice out in the group phase and the best was a quarteras final. This is football heritage.
‘One day when I leave, the next Manchester United manager will find Romelu Lukaku, Nemanja Matic and David de Gea from many years ago. They will find players with a different mentality, quality, background, with a d different status, know-how.’
In fact, it has been pointed out t that if United meet Inter Milan in the final in Cologne on Friday, there will be more of Mourinho’s team from that night — Lukaku, Alexis Sanchez and Ashley Young — playing for the Italians than for the Premier League team.
You could argue the Portuguese had a point. United have been on a similar trajectory in Europe since then and were not in the Champions League again this season.
But Solskjaer knows United’s heritage goes back a lot further than nine years. He is rebuilding the mindset as well as the squad: a vibrant young team with an attacking mentality who have scored 24 goals in 11 games in Europe this season and a club that is no longer willing to accept second-best.
Third place in the Premier League wasn’t good enough for Solskjaer this season and going out in the semi-finals of the Europa League wouldn’t be either — particularly having lost at the same stage of both domestic cup competitions.
The United boss brought in De Gea for Sergio Romero in the FA Cup semi-final and it backfired the Spain goalkeeper’s errors contributed to a 3-1 defeat by Chelsea. It will be interesting to see if Solskjaer makes the same decision tomorrow.
Either way, he knows United must improve from their win over FC Copenhagen when they needed a Bruno Fernandes penalty in extra-time to go through.
‘ We need to be stronger at the start than we were against
Copenhagen,’ admitted Fernandes yesterday. ‘Sevilla are a team who are used to this kind of European tournament and the latter stages. We know the first minutes are crucial.’ No one has done more to transform United this season than the Portugal playmaker.
Fernandes’s winner against Copenhagen was his 11th goal in 21 games for the club, not to mention eight assists.
But Fernandes, who has another 15 goals and 14 assists for Sporting Lisbon this season, feels he can do even better.
‘I believe I can improve on my numbers given the quality we have up front,’ he added. ‘The manager was very clear. He told me to not be afraid, to just be myself, to continue to take risks and to maintain the same mentality that I had at Sporting.’
Mourinho’s United were derided for being too negative against Sevilla last time.
Solskjaer will hope that a more positive approach is rewarded with a different outcome. SEVILLA (4-3-3, probable): Bounou; Navas, Diego Carlos, Kounde, Reguilon; Banega, Fernando, Jordan; Suso, En-Nesyri, Ocampos. MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1, probable): Romero or De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Williams; Fred, Pogba; Greenwood, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial. Referee: Felix Brych (Germany).