A Lille Happiness …
After twice defeating Benfica, United have another chance to slay the dragons of Euro disasters past, when they meet Lille in the Champions League next February.
“We had a bad experience last year but this is a different United team,” said Sir Alex. “We know it will be a difficult tie but we have improved so much from last season. It is an emerging team, which is getting better all the time.”
The draw ensures that United cannot be guilty of underestimating their opponent. Lille, curently third in France’s top league, punch above their weight and forced a 0-0 draw at Old Trafford last season. Claude Puel’s team then hit the jackpot with a 1-0 victory at Stade de France.
Even though the draw could not have been kinder, with United matched against the tournament’s least fancied contestants, Sir Alex will know that United are on a hiding to nothing. Victory over a French side of modest resources will be greeted with relief rather than celebration. United have not reached the quarter final stages of Europe’s premier competition since surviving a test of nerve against Deportivo La Corunna in an infamous 2002 encounter. But if United find Puel’s hardworking team of non-stars too much, Ferguson will be savaged.
“In a way, it didn’t really matter who we got,” Sir Alex admitted. “The important thing is that we are there. Our European record over the last few years has not done us any good. This club has had some great European challenges over the years and some terrific journeys.
“We have played in semi-finals and quarter-finals and a final. The current team is young enough to do this for years now but we have to prove we can get to that level again. That is the direction this club should be taking.”
Sir Alex will be aware that Lille held off Anderlecht and the Greek side AEK Athens, to finish behind AC Milan in Group H. Nevertheless, United will be overjoyed to be travelling to France in the first leg, especially as the same draw pitted Barcelona against Liverpool and forced Real Madrid to go head-to-head with Bayern Munich.
For Lille, the happiness of qualification has been tempered by the propect of taking on a dangerous and vastly improved United. Lille General Director Jerome Lestir, conceded as much when he said his club was “disappointed” to face United.
“We are happy, although at the same time, there is some disappointment,” Lestir said in an interview with l’Equippe . “We would have liked a bit of a change. We know the directors of Manchester United very well and have got used to working with them, but we don’t know their players as well because there have been a lot of changes on that front recently.
“We are the outsiders because they are dominating their championship and even Chelsea have had problems keeping pace with them. It will be a big match.”
“The aim is to qualify. At the moment, our record against them is level (one victory, two draws and one defeat) and we going to try to make that a bit better.”
The first leg will be played on 20/21 February with the return on 6/7 March.
FULL DRAW: FC Porto v Chelsea; Celtic v AC Milan; PSV Eindhoven v Arsenal; Lille v Manchester United; Roma v Lyon; Barcelona v Liverpool; Real Madrid v Bayern Munich; Inter Milan v Valencia. AU
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