Juan Mata eyes Europa League salvation for Manchester United

Manchester United’s English striker Wayne Rooney reacts during the English Premier League football match between Sunderland and Manchester United at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, northeast England on February 13, 2016.

The embattled club, though, are in two other competitions and, after their European foray on Thursday, they have one more game on the road against Shrewsbury in the FA Cup. In terms of that, we’ve probably got off quite lightly and the manager has taken a lot of it.

“Manchester United has bought him even though he is now 31, so I had to convince the board to buy him, because he’s a very good player and he always gives a team more balance”.

Rooney, however, said the club could not afford to take the opportunity to win silverware lightly.

But Mata insists he’s seen improvement from his side in recent matches and wants to take that form into Europe knowing that the winners of this year’s tournament receive a Champions League spot.

“It’s going to be tough to win the Premier League from the position we’re in now, so I think our main aim is to get into that top four and it’d be great to win the Europa League”.

The club which set standards of excellence in the league under Sir Alex Ferguson’s leadership have now been bogged down to times when their new hope of getting Champions League next season is winning the Europa League.

“Champions League qualification is the minimum target for them – that’s a given beforehand, when you look at the squads and the budgets and what is spent”.

Juan Mata claims winning the Europa League could salvage Manchester United ‘s traumatic season. “We can all refresh and hopefully go down to West Ham and get a result”, he said. Something has to change if United are to make the top four following the defeat against Sunderland.

Chelsea FC is hoping to climb the Premier League standings, but can Newcastle United end the defending champions’ undefeated streak today? United are going to need another big overhaul in the summer and for that to happen they will need to make sure that they are attractive enough for the players to come.