Despite their poor start to the season, centre-back Raphael Varane is optimistic about the team’s chances in Europe’s elite competition.
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The optimism was high in the summer among Manchester United supporters. It was due to the positive 2022-23 campaign they had experienced under Erik ten Hag when the Red Devils finished third in the Premier League. Besides, they also won the Carabao Cup and reached the FA Cup final. However, things have not gone according to plan in the current season. United are struggling big time in both domestic and European competitions.
Manchester United lost their last match in the Premier League to Crystal Palace at the weekend. They had also lost their opener in the Champions League away to Bayern Munich. Despite their poor start to the season, centre-back Raphael Varane is optimistic about the team’s chances in Europe’s elite competition. Varane, who has won the Champions League four times with Real Madrid, was attending the pre-match press conference with Erik ten Hag ahead of their second match in this season’s competition against Galatasaray.
Varane was asked how far is Man United from lifting the Champions League trophy. The defender, quoted by the club’s website, replied, “I think this competition is about details, and you have to be efficient to win it. At the moment, in the last [few] weeks, I think what we can improve is to be more efficient in front of the goals. With a very low number of occasions, we concede goals and we need to create a lot to score. That’s the reality of the top level. You have to be efficient to win big trophies.”
The French defender was also asked whether United have what it takes to win the competition. He replied, “Yes, I think so. I think we have the quality in the squad to win the competition. As I said, the competition is difficult. You have to take care about every detail. But yeah, we have a team with quality, with good mentality. We have to make some improvements, it’s not the start of the season we expected, but I still believe we have enough quality to compete with the best teams in the world. Tomorrow is a great opportunity to get the first points in that competition and to move forward and to improve.”
Under ten Hag’s management, some promising young players have risen through the ranks and are playing regular football for the senior side like Alejandro Garnacho and Hannibal Mejbri among others. Speaking about them, Varane said, “I think they are doing well. They bring energy in the team. They are still learning, that’s normal.”
“And the players with more experience, it’s important to show by example, to lead by example and to communicate with them about everything, about how to be professional, how to play, to support the pressure, to be calm and determined during the games. We have a lot to do. As a leader, we have to show them and to talk with them. So that’s what we try to do. And hopefully they [the younger players] can bring their talent and passion on the pitch. That will be very helpful this season. There are a lot of young talents at the club and, hopefully, they can improve the squad.”
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