A Look At Manchester United’s Europa League Campaign So Far

A Look At Manchester United’s Europa League Campaign So Far

Manchester United have had a tough few years since Alex Ferguson decided to retire in 2013. After uninspiring spells under David Moyes and Louis Van Gaal, the Red Devils had been lacking venom and seemed to be a shadow of the team that has been a European powerhouse for so many years.

After Van Gaal’s departure at the end of last season, United decided to offer the role to Jose Mourinho. Fresh off the back of a torrid second spell with Chelsea, Mourinho caused chaos both on and off the field, facing legal action after dressing down club physio Eva Carneiro in front of the world and failing to get superstars like Eden Hazard and Diego Costa to start playing to their full potential. His initial period in Manchester was somewhat inconsistent but after a rocky start, he is starting to get some results. His big success so far was a narrow League Cup final win over Southampton that gave Mourinho his second piece of silverware at United, following a Charity Shield win in the summer.

United have displayed some fairly average performances in the Europa League this season, battling their way through the group stages with some questionable results. They struggled away from home, losing twice against Feyenoord and Fenerbahçe, despite Mourinho fielding strong teams in both games. However, they managed wins in both return home fixtures and saw off minnows Zorya in both legs to book their place in the knockout stages. They followed up their success in the group by hammering French outfit St Etienne, tallying up a 4-0 win on aggregate over two legs. The home fixture was made memorable with an incredible hat-trick from a particularly boisterous Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who likened himself to Indiana Jones in typical Zlatan style. They face Rostov of Ukraine in the last 16, a game that should be a walk in the park based on their current form and the quality of players Mourinho has at his disposal.


Despite a couple of slip ups, United haven’t really had a challenging team to face and Rostov don’t look like they should provide much opposition. Mourinho is usually good at avoiding embarrassing defeats to small clubs, but if his players still don’t fire on all cylinders then there could still be an upset to come. The really interesting games are yet to be seen, with the likes of Lyon, Roma, Ajax and Schalke all still in the mix if they manage to make it through the round of 16. Despite there being some strong teams that could face them, the bookies have named United as favourites with 7/4 odds. With players like Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and Wayne Rooney, who could be looking for his last bit of silverware with the club, it’s easy to see why no-one fancies anyone else but the reds.

With the FA cup still to be played for and a top four spot to chase, Mourinho has a lot on his plate and will have to pick his squad carefully as the season heads into the last 10 games. If he can keep players motivated and avoid closing potential stars out of the squad as seems to be happening with the likes of Bastian Schweinsteiger and Luke Shaw, then he may have enough depth to manage both a respectable league finish and a European cup win.