This campaign for Manchester United fans has been a mixed one at best – failure to convert draws into wins and to turn up in big games (4-0 loss against Chelsea and 1-2 home loss against City come to mind) has meant their prospects of finishing in the top four are quite bleak. The gap to top four is just two points as this article is written, and yet there is a lingering feeling that United's profligacy in front of goal will cost them dearly.
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Also Read: Jose Mourinho has to take the Europa League seriously
The Europa League has been a different story, though – the latest 3-0 win over St Etienne was yet another instance of the Red Devils strolling over weaker opposition. With the competition getting ever tighter at the top end of the Premier League table, there is a definite case to argue that Europa League success represents Manchester United's best shot at Champions League football next season.
Here are 5 reasons why Manchester United can win the Europa League this season:
#1 Lack of quality contenders
Last year, a resurgent Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp beat European heavyweights Borussia Dortmund and Manchester United to move on to the semi-finals where they met a tricky proposition in Villarreal, and upon overcoming them was face to face with defending champions, Sevilla.
Such was the level of opponents Liverpool faced, that the footballing world agreed they had a tougher run in to the Europa League final than Real Madrid had to the Champions League final (Roma, Wolfsburg, Manchester City).
A year later, a cursory glance at the round of 32 fixtures suggests that with the exception of Tottenham, Manchester United can be expected to be comfortably dominant against the 30 other teams left in the competition.
For all his reputation, Mauricio Pochettino's record in Europe has been poor; he has always preferred to field second-string line-ups in anticipation of upcoming Premier League fixtures. Therefore, whether they are successful at seeing the task through or not, as things stand, there is a case to argue that United would be really disappointed to be knocked out by any of those 31 teams.
#2 Jose Mourinho’s love for Cup competitions
Managers like Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino regularly get exasperated fielding questions whether their choice of line-ups for cup competitions represents a lack of respect. Mourinho, on the other hand, has never faced any similar accusations – he is open and clear about his ambition to triumph in every competition he is part of.
Mourinho's immaculate European record was kickstarted in 2002-03 with a Europa League Trophy (then named UEFA Cup) with FC Porto. The following season, they went on to win the UEFA Champions League, which represented the breakthrough point of a young Mourinho's managerial career.
No one needs to teach the Portuguese manager the value of trophies – and indeed, no one needs to coach into him the highly tactical and disciplined nature of European contests.
#3 Style of play
Even though all of football is hysterical in their praise of Klopp, Pochettino and Guardiola for their effervescent and proactive pressing game, it is quite debatable whether such a demanding regime is sustainable over the course of four competitions through a season.
Towards the rear end of last season, Klopp regularly fielded youngsters in Premier League outings as they strolled through the Europa League – leading to such results as the 3-1 loss at Swansea. Conversely, Pochettino tried to boost his title chase by sacrificing the Europa League – exiting meekly at the hands of Borussia without so much as a hint of a fight.
Early season, Premier League running statistics revealed Manchester United covered the least amount of distance in the Premier League whereas Liverpool ran the most. Coupled with the results the two experienced at the time, the stat was used to mock Mourinho's outdated gameplay. The course of events since the turn of the year forces a rethink – perhaps United has peaked at the right time thanks in part to their manager's measured approach.
#4 Experience and depth of squad
Mata, Martial, Mkhitaryan, Rashford and Rooney vying for two positions. World Cup winner Schweinsteiger as a luxury option off the bench just in cup competitions. The depth of this Manchester United squad is clear for all to see – and if one is to see through a European campaign to a successful conclusion, perhaps that is the most pressing requirement.
One of the younger members of the squad, Paul Pogba, has amassed 48 European appearances till date. This is a squad of winners – Ibrahimovic, Mata, Rooney, Mkhitaryan, Carrick, Schweinsteiger – wherever you look, there are players who know how to win, how to keep their head in important situations and be unfazed on the biggest occasions.
During cagey European contests, the only thing that separates teams most of the time is one moment of sheer inspiration from a true match winner – and starting from the man guarding the posts, there are plenty of match winners throughout this squad.
#5 Premier League woes
For a moment, step back and try to contemplate what it would have been like had Manchester United been embroiled in a Premier League title race right now. Europa League would rightly take backstage – there would be clamour from Manchester United fans themselves to prioritise the league. In such a situation, with the Top 4 virtually guaranteed, there would have been no sense of desperation creeping through a United squad in the Europa League at the thought of how to play CL football next season.
As things stand, how the Premier League table will finally shape up is anyone's guess – but if you are forced to bet on it, United would be one among the two heavyweights who must make way for the Top 4 in the top six. That is not a foregone conclusion, of course, but then the Europa League contests naturally assume a lot more significance – as a genuine route to Champions League football that is arguably more straightforward than the plots and twists of the Premier League.
Even if they end up finishing 6th, a Europa League triumph would set United up in a formidable position for next season – perhaps even better than finishing fourth at the expense of adding to the trophy cabinet.
