Looking for salvation
Devils, Gunners look to Europa League for season redeemer
JUAN MATA has expressed his respect for Club Brugge and underlined the need for Manchester United to be fully focused in tomorrow’s (1.55am Malaysian time) Europa
League last-32 tie in
Belgium.
United have reached this stage of the competition by finishing top of
Group L with 13 points from a possible 18 and the Europa
League represents an excellent opportunity to lift a trophy this season.
The Belgian club are entering the competition after their elimination from the Champions
League, in which they finished third in
Group
A behind European giants Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
While our upcoming opponents were disappointed to earn only three points in that group, their results included an impressive 2-2 draw against Real at the imposing Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
“They’re a good Belgium team and I remember when they played in the Champions League, so they’re a team that has good experience in European competitions and they won’t be afraid of playing against us,” Mata told manutd.com yesterday.
“We’ll try to go through and we’ll remember the good memories we have from the Europa League and Stockholm in the final against Ajax when we won (in 2017). It’s a really nice competition to win.”
Quizzed on what is required to succeed in the knockout stages of the competition, Mata says: “I think the key is not to make too many mistakes, because a very cheap goal can cost you in the competition.
“So it’s about being focused on what you have to do, to play at your best level and to try to grow into the
competition.
“It’s different than the Premier League, you can lose a game but you still have a chance to come back and win more points.
“In the Europa League, if you have a bad day you can be out of the competition, so you have to be really 100% focused in every game.”
Arsenal meanwhile are unbeaten in their last eight games under Mikel Arteta, although the Gunners’ new Spanish boss could do with turning some of his team’s many draws into more victories.
Currently in mid-table in the Premier League, last season’s beaten finalists travel to face Olympiakos knowing this competition is surely their best bet if they are to return to the Champions League next term.
“They may not have started well in the Premier League this season, but they have great players, are dangerous and deserve our respect,” said Pedro Martins, the coach of Olympiakos.
The Greek league leaders dropped out of the Champions League group stage despite holding Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-2 draw in Piraeus.
Elsewhere surprise La Liga minors Gatafe, who have been one of the stories of the season in Spain, host last season’s Champions League semifinalist Ajax, who were brought crashing back to earth when they were eliminated from this season’s competition in the group stage.
It is Getafe’s first European knockout tie since they took Bayern Munich to extra time in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals in 2008. – AFP/Agencies