Champions League: We can beat everyone if we play well, says Donny van de Beek

Donny van de Beek was pleased to get minutes in the legs during Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against Young Boys in the Champions League final group match. Van de Beek made a rare start as the Reds had to settle for a point at Old Trafford. The Netherlands international played the full 90 minutes at Old Trafford, as Ralf Rangnick made 11 changes to his side. United couldn’t close out the group-stage campaign with a win, as Mason Greenwood’s opening strike was cancelled out by Fabian Rieder’s equaliser just before half-time. Having already qualified as group winners, the German coach had the luxury to completely rotate his squad. 

In the round-of-16, Atletico Madrid, Benfica, RB Salzburg, Internazionale, Paris Saint-Germain, Sporting are the potential opponents for Manchester United. Donny van de Beek feels that at this stage of the competition, every team will be a strong opponent, as he believes that if United play to their potential then they can overcome anyone. “I think all the teams in this stage of the Champions League, everyone is strong so I think we have to watch ourselves and we have to be top,” van de Beek told club media. 

“I think with the players we have we can beat everyone. But what I said, we have to work hard every day and I believe we can beat everyone if we play well. I think a lot of players didn’t play for a while and I think it’s really important we get some minutes in the legs,” Donny added, when asked about the rotated side.

Van de Beek: I take responsibility for that

Van de Beek’s misplaced ball resulted in the build-up for Young Boys’ equaliser. The Dutch midfielder admitted his mistake in the team conceding that goal. “Maybe I should kick it away. I didn’t do that I take responsibility for that, after that it was a little bit difficult. We didn’t get enough pressure on them, we lost too many balls and it’s difficult to come into the game.”

The game also saw debuts for Tom Heaton, Zidane Iqbal and Charlie Savage. “For a few guys, they make their first game in the Champions League. Congratulations to them because I know it’s really special to play this night. 1-1 and we focus on the next one, in the Premier League,” he explained.

‘It was important to get game-time’

Ralf Rangnick made 11 changes to the Manchester United line-up from the 1-0 victory at the weekend over Crystal Palace. This allowed him the opportunity to get a closer look at several members of his squad for the first time, in a game situation. Speaking to MUTV and BT Sport along with a post-match press conference, Rangnick said, “We shouldn’t be too strict. I was fully aware with this formation and line-up, the players haven’t played together like this. I think the first half-hour was okay, we scored a beautiful goal, we had another two great opportunities. Juan Mata should have scored actually and the same with Amad.” 

“At that time, we should have been 2-0, if not 3-0 up and then we made the mistake to get less proactive. We were too deep, we sent several pressing invitations including the goal we conceded. In the second half, it could have been in the end 4-4, we had another great opportunity by Anthony Elanga, who was one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but they also had quite a few opportunities. It was a bit erratic in the second half, but I still believe it was the right decision to give some of those young players the opportunity to play. Tom Heaton made his debut for Manchester United. Also, for quite a few of the experienced players, it was important to get game-time.”