Manchester United will be looking to keep Real Betis in check when they play the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie in Spain.
The Red Devils already have one foot in the quarterfinals following their 4-1 win over the La Liga outfit last Thursday night. Marcus Rashford opened the scoring in the early minutes of the first half, although Ayoze Pérez's stunner cancelled out the host's lead and the half ended in a stalemate. Manchester United eventually won with second-half goals from Antony, Bruno Fernandes, and Wout Weghorst.
Manuel Pellegrini, however, still believes his side can turn things around in Spain when they welcome Erik Ten Hag's side on their home turf.
“Well, I really believe that in football, you never know the score a game can finish with," Pellegrini stated in his press conference.
“We play there away." It is always different to play here at home with our fans behind our team, knowing from the beginning that we are playing against a big team and that they have all the major options to qualify for the next round.
“But we must try from the first minute, first to win the game, and then try to score the goals that we need to qualify." "And if not, to play a good game and win here at home."
“So, believing in my team and believing in our fans, we try, all together, to turn the score," Pellegrini explained.
While Manchester United will be looking to finish the job in Spain on Thursday night, other contenders will as well battle it out in their respective reverse fixtures.
Real Sociedad will be looking to bounce back from their first-leg 2-0 loss to Jose Mourinho's Roma. While Premier League leaders Arsenal will be looking to progress at the expense of Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon, they both played to a 2-2 draw during the first leg in Portugal.
Juventus will be aiming to get the better of SC Freiburg after winning the first leg 1-0. Bayern Leverkusen has a 2-0 advantage against Ferencváros, while Union Berlin and Union Saint Gilloise played out a 3-3 draw.
Possible Manchester United opponents in the Europa League quarterfinal draw:
Arsenal or Sporting CP
Feynoord or Shakhtar Donetsk
Sevilla or Fenerbahce
Union Berlin or Union Saint-Gilloise
Roma or Real Sociedad?
Juventus or SC Freiburg
Ferencváros or Bayer Leverkusen?
The quarter-finals draw will take place in a lunchtime ceremony at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland. While the quarterfinal matches will be held on April 13 and 20,
Post a Comment