An abject 2-0 defeat at arch rivals Liverpool in the first leg of their Europa League tie on Thursday had the critics again sharpening their knives and tongues.
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United face a mammoth task to overturn the two-goal deficit when they meet Liverpool at Old Trafford in the return leg on Thursday, but Mata was confident it would not be Mission Impossible.
“The FA Cup is very special for all of us and it is against a very good team like West Ham”, Mata said.
“We had expected that and for me it was a surprise we did not cope with that because they did it the same way in the home match this year that we played against them (which United won 3-1)”. I don’t think it is about the leaders.
Van Gaal needs to get out of our club but the reality is he is probably here until the summer which means we’ve got to put up with United playing like this for another couple of months.
“We never give up”, he said. We are still in three competitions. “Really great and I want to say thank you to everyone that was involved”. Perhaps Liverpool in Europe does not fall comfortably into that category but United arrived in the Europa League only by virtue of failing to make the Champions League cut and then being given a fright by Midtjylland.
Klopp was careful not to get too carried away with the performance and goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was equally wary ahead of next week’s short trip to Manchester. The team played very well. I know the boss is behind me.
The season could turn around although every time that looks a possibility, a defeat to a smaller side like West Bromwich Albion takes United crashing back down to earth.
The mood around Upton Park could scarcely be better given their recent performances, but manager Slaven Bilic has warned that United will offer a far sterner test than they did against Liverpool this week.
“And it is possible that we are going out. We have to keep it up if we’re going to go through”, he added. That’s why we conceded a lot of chances. We need to head over to Old Trafford and continue in the same vein of form, as we ended last night’s 90 minutes.
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“We can recover and focus on the game but I am sure Manchester United players are fit enough to play two games in a week”.
