GONZALEZ BELIEVES
Olympiakos manager Michel Gonzalez says that the troubles faced by their Champions League opponents Manchester United could be a huge burden on the club in the European matches. United will be taking on the Greek outfit Olympiakos looking to progress to the quarter-finals. Last season, they failed to get past the last 16 stage after being knocked out by Real Madrid.
Progression this time around is far more important after their failings in all competitions since the arrival of David Moyes. Only their Champions League performances have been of some worthy.
It is also the only way that they can qualify for the next season’s tournament since the club are seventh in the table with less than 10 matches remaining. Liverpool are the favourites to finish in the top four ahead of United. Even though Olympiakos come into the match in a very good run of form, which has seen them when almost all matches in their domestic league, many are putting United as the favourites for the victory. A home match in the first leg certainly provides Olympiakos with a great opportunity to cause an upset and shake the favourites.
Michel says that he is trying to figure out whether United’s troubles in the Premier league causes them to perform badly in Europe as well.
“Manchester United won’t allow errors tomorrow in spite of their lowly Premier League position. The pressure can be a burden for their players. Maybe it can weigh too much for them. However, we don’t know how it will affect their performance. It’s an advantage that a lot of our guys don’t have the experience at this level. The passion and motivation they have given to get here will guide us and we can cause Manchester United problems,” said the Olympiakos manager ahead of the first leg between the two clubs.