NEXT STOP CITY

Jose’s out to book slot in last 16, so Reds can focus on catching Pep’s leaders

JOSE MOURINHO has challenged his players to reach the Champions League last 16 tonight – then focus on reeling in Manchester City in the title race.

Manchester United will qualify for the knockout stages with two games to spare, if they beat Benfica at Old Trafford and CSKA Moscow fail to win away at Basel.

Mourinho wants qualification wrapped up as quickly as possible so he can concentrate on stopping the Premier League title race becoming a victory procession for free-scoring City.

Pep Guardiola’s side are already five points clear at the top, with the prospect of that lead increasing with United travelling to Mourinho’s former club Chelsea on Sunday.

“Our aim is to qualify,” said Mourinho. “Ten points would be OK to qualify, but our main aim is to finish first in the group.

“We know the statistics are what they are, but Basel have had good results against CSKA and Benfica.

“A draw is not a bad result, but Benfica will give us a difficult match. They have their own ambition and pride, and will try to win. But we want to get to the last 16 as first in the group.”

The Reds have impressed on their return to the Champions League, with three straight wins to stand on the brink of qualification.

In contrast, Benfica have failed to register a single point, losing 1-0 at home to United a fortnight ago, with Mourinho (right) claiming they are better than those results suggest.

“The players feel it on the pitch when they play, and they felt like it was quite easy to win against CSKA and Basel, but difficult to beat Benfica,” said the manager.

“The game could easily have been 0-0 or 1-1. Benfica were much better than those two other teams, tactically and collectively.

“I wasn’t disappointed with the performance of Benfica. In small groups, a bad result in the first match can give you a bad feeling for the rest of the games.

“I ’ ve seen the game against CSKA over and over again and it’s difficult to see how Benfica lost it.”

Having won the Europa League last season to reach the Champions League, Mourinho said United are a far better side now, as they seek to re-establish their European credentials.

“We played in the Europa League and then returned to the Champions League two years year later,” said Mourinho.

“United were eliminated by Basel B and PSV Eindhoven E in recent r years, but I think that’s quite a logical consequence of evolution.

“We won the Europa League last season, but my team are now playing in the Champions League and are much better than last year or three years ago.”

Despite the crucial weekend trip to Stamford Bridge, the Special One claimed his only focus is tonight’s encounter against the Portuguese champions.

“Nobody here thinks about any other match,” he added.

“Nobody here thinks about Chelsea, it’s just Benfica, the Champions League and only the Champions League.”