The Red Devils sit nine points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, but the winger is not throwing in the towel yet
Henrikh Mkhitaryan says Manchester United have not given up on securing a Champions League place via the Premier League – despite their worst start for 27 years, writes David McDonnell in Odessa.
United have fallen nine points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, with victory in the Europa League looking increasingly like their best chance of getting straight back into the Champions League.
Jose Mourinho’s side need a point against Zorya Luhansk tonight to go through to the Europa League knockout stage, but midfielder Mkhitaryan said they still feel they can mount a comeback in the Premier League.
“We haven’t given up in the Premier League yet,” said Mkhitaryan. “So we’re not saying we are out of the competition.
“We’re still in the competition and there are a lot of games to play, so we’re trying to do our best to be in the top four.
“And, of course, in the Europa League we’re going to try and go as far as we can.”
Mourinho echoed Mkhitaryan, insisting he wants United to progress to the last 32 of the Europa League, despite the Thursday and Sunday match schedule having been cited as a reason for their problems in the Premier League.
“We go in the same direction,” said Mourinho. “We assumed from the beginning that it was an important competition for us, but difficult because we play Thursdays and then Sundays.
“We’re never given a Monday match to have one more day to rest and prepare.
“It’s a difficult competition to play, with the rest of the competitions, but we want to try to win it.
“While we are in the competition, we will try to win it. We want to go to the knockout stage and go as far as possible, step by step. The first step is a difficult one, to qualify from a very difficult group.
“The most important competition is always the next match. Today I’m saying the most important competition is the Europa League, and after the match here it will be the Premier League.”
United arrived in Ukraine on the back of a dismal away record in Europe, having lost their last five games on the road.
They have only won twice in Europe since Sir Alex Ferguson retired back in 2013, but Mourinho claimed United had deserved to win their games against Feyenoord and Fenerbahce, both of which they lost.
“I can only speak about myself and my matches,” said Mourinho. “We lost to Feyenoord in a game we should have won.
“The team played well and had the game always under control. When the team was pushing to win, we lost.
“In Fenerbahce, another difficult place to go, we conceded in the first minute, which gives the home team the best conditions to win.
“The reality is if you want to qualify you cannot lose three matches away. That’s why we need points here.
“We know this is a crucial match for us. If we lose we can be out and we don’t want to be out.”
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