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| “United can win the Champions League” Posted: 20 Mar 2014 01:03 AM PDT
After a season characterised by slow, sluggish and uninspiring football United were closer to their normal selves last night, as they took the game to the Greek outfit from the start, roared on by a raucous Old Trafford and managed to overturn a 2-0 deficit in an European competition for only the second time in the club’s history since they beat Barcelona 3-0 in 1984.
“I suppose we will be underdogs in the draw, but I genuinely believe this club is capable of winning it,” said the United manager. “If we show our capabilities, which we haven’t done too often, we can be a match for any team. After Sunday’s performance [the 3-0 home defeat by Liverpool], we needed to bounce back and we did it in style with this victory. “It was a really good result in Europe, we came from two goals behind. It means we have got ourselves another two games in the Champions League, something we will really look forward to.” Moyes was full of praise of Robin Van Persie, whose hat-trick proved the difference and perhaps kept Moyes in his job for another week at least. “To score a hat-trick in Champions League football is a big thing, only certain players in the world are capable of it and Van Persie is one of them. He took his penalty and the free-kick well and Wayne did really well for the second goal. He scored his hat-trick and really deserved it,” said Moyes. Moyes, however, insisted that yesterday’s victory will not change anything about his future, which he considered safe even after Sunday’s humiliation at home against Liverpool. “I’m not feeling any pressure from inside the club, it’s coming from you people [the media],” said Moyes. “We know the job we have to do, it’s probably bigger than what I thought when I first came to the club. “There are stories of this player falling out, or that one falling out, but it’s rubbish. People are looking for reasons why we are not doing well but it is only because we have not been playing well.”
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| Not quite 84′ but United’s Champions League Dream remains alive Posted: 19 Mar 2014 03:39 PM PDT
Evoking the spirit of ’84 might be a step too far, but United proved that they still have enough quality to perform on the big stage and the fans responded admirably, dragging their side through 90 emotional minutes.
Does tonight change David Moyes’ future or the impact he’s had on United this season? Probably not, for the way the players responded tonight probably asked more questions than it answered, but in a season of lows, a win such as tonight’s is always going to be rousingly celebrated. United weren’t outstanding, they simply were a lot better than they’ve been all season. In short, they turned up, put on a shift and gave their fans something to cheer about. Danny Welbeck replaced Adnan Januzaj, with Antonio Valencia coming in for the cup-tied Juan Mata, while Ryan Giggs was surprisingly given the nod in midfield ahead of Marouane Fellaini. After a quiet start during which United failed to create anything worth mentioning, apart from a Rooney’s header crashing against the post, Giggs found Van Persie with a superb lofted pass. Having brought down in the box, RVP drilled the subsequent penalty past Olympiakos’ keeper Roberto to get the juices flowing in the stands. David De Gea rescued United twice in quick succession after Patrice Evra had switched on yet again – much as we love Paddy, he’s a terrible liability defensively – and allowed Olympiakos through. Van Persie added his second just before halftime by tucking in Rooney’s cross, before he completed his hat-trick straight after the restart with an excellent free-kick. Those who expected United to sail through were left disappointed, as United took their foot of the gas and left everybody at Old Trafford on the edge of their seats, with Phil Jones, Michael Carrick excelling in their roles, while Giggs continued to defy age in the middle of the park. What the future holds is unknown, probably a defeat in the quarter final and a shocking performance against City, but it’d be foolish not to enjoy tonight at least a bit. Granted, United will not win the Champions League this season and tonight’s game wasn’t superb, nor should Moyes’ tenure being judged on the basis of a single game, but at least we’ve something to cheer about after eight months. For tonight, that’s more than enough. |
It might not be the turning point David Moyes needed to save his United career, it’ll probably not change the way this season will be considered, but tonight’s performance showed that United can still turn up and give their fans something to shout about.| You are subscribed to email updates from Red Rants To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
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