Though the quest for a second-straight Barclays Premier League title has not gone according to plan this season for Manchester United and first-year boss David Moyes, the club still has plenty to look forward to concerning the UEFA Champions League. The Red Devils have once again landed in the knockout stage of the top-level event and even though they have not performed up to their usual high level for most of the season, the English giants are still optimistic about their chances against Olympiakos in the Round of 16 and beyond. Noting that Liverpool was able to claim the 2005 UEFA title after struggling in England, David Moyes feels strongly about his sides chances this year while also noting that recent time off has afforded him the opportunity to spend some personal time with his players.
“It isn't always the best teams that get to the final in Europe,” he said. “Liverpool in 2005 gives us hope, but in any cup competition you always have a chance. I knew it was going to be a hard competition before it started. Bayern Munich, Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG are all top clubs. We didn't need loads of training, but it was probably the first time I've had a real chance to get together with the players. We trained every day, had some good weather and played golf. It gave me the chance to spend some time with the players.”
Man U’s chances of finishing at the top of the Champions League mountain will obviously have to do a great deal with club health. Dealing with multiple injuries this season along the midfield and defensive units, David Moyes and company were happy to learn recently that a key trio of defenders could be ready go for the club’s opening leg match against their Greek opponents on Tuesday, Feb. 25. Centre-backs Phil Jones and Jonny Evans missed United’s recent 2-0 win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park with right-back Rafael da Silva missing the action as well. Evaluating the aforementioned trio over the weekend, the former Everton boss remains hopeful his top-level defenders will be ready to go when the team heads to Greece.
“We’ve got a few injuries but I’m hoping we might get a few of them back for Tuesday,” stated the Moyes stated on the Manchester United website. “We’ll get a chance to see how Jonny Evans, Phil Jones and Rafael are on Sunday and see if they can join us. We’ve got a tough European game coming up on Tuesday now. I wanted to win at Palace so we could go into it in form and with confidence. It’s such a big game for us. We hadn’t played for 10 days before Saturday, so I wanted to make sure all the players were ready and will be ready to perform again on Tuesday.”
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