The champions league draw shifted our focus from that of Europa League, but the pairing of Manchester United with Barcelona invoked attention to that competition.
Though this competition is also an European game, people have been treating it with contempt looking at the caliber of teams that compete in it.
This year’s promise to be different from the previous editions. That is because we now have the likes of Juventus, Ajax, Barcelona, and Manchester United all competing in it.
The attention that was shifted to the Manchester United vs Barcelona and stopped people talking about UCL draw for a while, is a result of the recent form of both clubs.
Barcelona despite the exciting signings made this season, and Manchester United being steered by Ten Hag, even though the season is not halfway through, their performances has been inconsistent and below expectation.
This duo have met ten times. Manchester United have won 3 and two have ended in a tie. What makes this fixture a cracker is the fact that two of Manchester United’s defeat to Barcelona were in champions league grand finale. Xavi Hernandez, the FC Barcelona coach commented about the sides meeting.
“There is always a rival who also has the obligation to win, like ourselves. To compete, we have to analyse Manchester. We will try, this club has never won the Europa League.
“It’s a massive challenge for us, our players will probably be more motivated against a strong team.”
Will the red devils kick out their Spanish rivals as revenge? Or the 5 times UCL champions will extend the dominance over their England rivals?
We will know after the World Cup.
Author-Isaac Papa Nketsiah
