Barca boss wary of ‘historic’ United in Euro clash
BARCELONA manager Ernesto Valverde has sent a warning to his players ahead of their Champions League tie against United.
The Spanish giants will travel to Old Trafford for the first leg of the quarter-final on April 10 before the return game in Catalonia six days later.
The Spanish champions are strong favourites to progress to the last four, where either Liverpool or Porto will await, but Valverde knows it won’t be easy to eliminate United.
“Difficult, but we knew any [draw] would be in the quarter-final of the Champions League. All teams have high hopes and fully deserve to be where they are,”Valverde said.
“United are a historic European and world team, as we are, so it’s an attractive tie and difficult. They’re stringing together good results at the moment, so it’s a very open tie that either side can win.”
Valverde suggested United’s desire to fight until the final whistle in all of their matches is something his players will need to be wary of.
“They did well with a great result away to PSG, so we have to be careful,” the Spaniard added. “They do not give up and they were carrying a lot of injuries [against PSG], which they probably won’t against us. It’s one to look forward to.”
The Champions League represents the last chance for United to win some silverware after they were knocked out of the FA Cup by Wolves.
“It was a big step backwards, I’ve got to say,” Solskjaer said. “That’s the poorest performance since I’ve come here.”