As opposed to having a nice fresh squad at the end of the season...and still winning nothing.
Europa League Draw, Round of 32 - we got Real Sociedad
- Thread starter Maciej
- Start date
I'd be happy to see us knocked out early so we can concentrate on the league.
Last year we had a pretty nice path with AZ, Brügge, LASK and København FC before we met upper tier opposition in Sevilla and were unlucky to go out. Now we pulled the strongest available opponent out of the hat, PSG, RB Leipzig and Real Sociedad, we’ll get a good bit of experience this year to bring into Europe next season. Fingers crossed we’ll get use for it.
The Man United way
They're having a tremendous season. Sociedad is a typical mid table team that made it to Europe last season with Ødegaard on the team, they're plaiyng absolutely lights out this season though.
La Liga leaders, equal points with Atletico Madrid, but Madrid have 2 games in hand so it's merely a placeholder.
Obviously I know this is the EL. If we want to see us competing against CL in the coming seasons, this young team needs to play the toughest EL games.
There is no point playing farmers and thinking we are good.
If we want to improve, we have to be putting teams like Sociedad away comfortably.
Think it's ok draw, they got 5 goals in group for 4 against and 3 draws. Only Napoli were better, it's in Spain travel should be ok. Away 1st leg dont make a total mess of it should be ok.
By the time we get to play Sociedad, they will have already dropped enough points to even consider them as a dangerous opponent. On the other hand we are shit. and we have a very bad record against Spaniards. Just keep winning in the PL, we' ll see after that
It's a bit like the Premier League, the overall competitivity of the league has improved. Sociedad are particularly looking strong though, they have some incredibly technical gifted players.
You never know what will happen if everyone is fit and firing come the business end of the season. But I’m certain this squad can’t compete on four fronts.
My first thought after over 60 years of watching Utd was crap, the second, after being increasingly pessimistic the last 8 years, was good we’ll lose and be out of this competition!
Exactly. R.S plays counterattacking and fluid football. It will be a watchable game. I have watched RS many times, and they are quite good. With the best United team they will loose 9/10 though imo. It will be a great watch and hopefully a win.
I’d rather face a weaker team and get a smoother path forward. I don’t think it affects our (the players’) capabilities in the CL next year if we (the TV watching fans) are ‘scared’ of Real Sociedad in the Europa League this year
Think we've already worked that one out
I know.
Look at some of the posters.
"We are out"
"We wont win"
Like seriously, if fans think that, then we don't deserve to be in the CL next season either.
This is a team we need to be putting aside with relative ease.
Do you actually think fan negativity doesnt get to the players?
Of course we get Real Sociedad. 
Full draw:
Wolfsberger AC (AUT) v Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) v Club Brugge (BEL)
Real Sociedad (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
SL Benfica (POR) v Arsenal (ENG)
Red Star Belgrade (SRB) v A.C. Milan (ITA)
Royal Antwerpen (BEL) v Glasgow Rangers (SCO)
Slavia Praha (CZE) v Leicester City (ENG)
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Villarreal (ESP)
SC Braga (POR) v AS Roma (ITA)
FC Krasnodar (RUS) v Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Young Boys (SUI) v Bayer Leverkusen (GER)
Molde (NOR) v Hoffenheim (GER)
Granada (ESP) v SSC Napoli (ITA)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR) v Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
LOSC Lille (FRA) v Ajax Amsterdam (NED)
Olympiakos (GRE) v PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Wolfsberger AC (AUT) v Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) v Club Brugge (BEL)
Real Sociedad (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
SL Benfica (POR) v Arsenal (ENG)
Red Star Belgrade (SRB) v A.C. Milan (ITA)
Royal Antwerpen (BEL) v Glasgow Rangers (SCO)
Slavia Praha (CZE) v Leicester City (ENG)
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Villarreal (ESP)
SC Braga (POR) v AS Roma (ITA)
FC Krasnodar (RUS) v Dinamo Zagreb (CRO)
Young Boys (SUI) v Bayer Leverkusen (GER)
Molde (NOR) v Hoffenheim (GER)
Granada (ESP) v SSC Napoli (ITA)
Maccabi Tel-Aviv (ISR) v Shakhtar Donetsk (UKR)
LOSC Lille (FRA) v Ajax Amsterdam (NED)
Olympiakos (GRE) v PSV Eindhoven (NED)
Good, don't want any shite team from an obscure country. I want entertaining and competitive football matches if we're in Europa.
Ole's cup draw luck is absolutely rotten.
I’d rather face a weaker team and get a smoother path forward. I don’t think it affects our (the players’) capabilities in the CL next year if we (the TV watching fans) are ‘scared’ of Real Sociedad in the Europa League this year
So you think that players don't see what happens on social media?
Having watched our players for the last year under Ole, a few wins and they all think they are unbeatable.
Maguire came out and said it himself in an interview, we thought it would be easy.
I would rather face the hardest teams than some farmers until the final.
why ? what are you expecting us to do in the league ? secure a spot in next seasons Europa League, cause we're sure as shit not fluking top 4 again.....{yes last season was a fluke, but for a worldwide pandemic, we would've have been nowhere near it.}
Are they good? Or is playing the second team a risk?
EDIT: First in La liga. Wow
EDIT: First in La liga. Wow
Good draw for Spurs, which should allow us to play our mostly 2nd XI team.
Sack him.
Sociedad wont be top of the table in february - their form is awful, they are basically drawing each game. They havent won a game for almost a month
The David Moyes derby.
Couldn’t make this up. Of course we get the hardest draw again
Well only positive is that it will be another good test for this team and either we manage to beat them or we are out of this competition for good and can focus on the league.
Well only positive is that it will be another good test for this team and either we manage to beat them or we are out of this competition for good and can focus on the league.
People are so excited about this Mickey mouse cup!!!!
Surely their draws need investigating?
Did Real Sociedad finish 2nd in their Europa group or something? I haven't been paying that much attention to it? I thought we would be seeded as ex CL team so get something that came 2nd in their group?
Agree they drew 3 in Group stages. Let's just see where we are and they are in Feb.
Who would be our manager when we play them? Ole or Pochettino?
Tough draw. Just play the kids
It's interesting that the Europa League draw contained the leaders of all five major European leagues - Real Sociedad, Tottenham, Bayer Leverkusen, AC Milan and Lille.
Nice trip (if anyone could actually go) but apart from that, its hard to get too excited by this. My season priorities now for selecting strength of teams would be:
1. Premier League (I'm glass half full - if we beat Burnley as the game in hand, we're 2 points off the top whilst playing average football so far this season. If we can start to play a bit better, why not try and capitalize on this weirdest of seasons).
2. FA Cup
3. Carabao Cup (given we're in the last 8 already)
4. Europa League
1. Premier League (I'm glass half full - if we beat Burnley as the game in hand, we're 2 points off the top whilst playing average football so far this season. If we can start to play a bit better, why not try and capitalize on this weirdest of seasons).
2. FA Cup
3. Carabao Cup (given we're in the last 8 already)
4. Europa League
I think some of the twitter stuff filters through to the players, unfortunately (not the Caf, though), because they are impressionable kids with brands to tend. If you scroll through the twitter comments linked to the players, it is not filled to the brin with ‘Real Sociedad is a really tough opponent, I wish we’d have gotten Molde’. If so, they might have become more ‘scared’ of them, but as you suggest in your last post, they’d just as likely be more on their toes.
But as twitter is more filled with ‘This sucks!’, ‘JLingz = losr’, ‘Pogba TRAITOR’ and ‘Ole Out!’, I don’t think someone writing ‘hope we get a cheap draw’ on the Caf is going to filter through and affect the players at all, no. I think it much more likely that what if anything affects the players negatively, are all the fans that expect us to be best in Europe and trying to ‘raise the standards’ by dishing out ‘NOT UTD MATERIAL’ grades in the public.
I’d wish it wasn’t so, but I think it’s pretty likely.
Let's see when we approach the first match how we are doing in the league.
At the moment it looks like, the league is up for grabs this season. If we win the match in hand, we are just two points away from the top. By February, if we are still close, I would play the reserves in Europe and go all out for winning the league. Let the rest fight in Europe as well, and just focus on the league. Can we add a player or two in January, why not? Every team is as consistent as United this season.
At the moment it looks like, the league is up for grabs this season. If we win the match in hand, we are just two points away from the top. By February, if we are still close, I would play the reserves in Europe and go all out for winning the league. Let the rest fight in Europe as well, and just focus on the league. Can we add a player or two in January, why not? Every team is as consistent as United this season.
That actually is interesting. Couple of them are probably in ‘false’ positions such as Lille and Bayer but covid has really made football strange
We can't concentrate on both?
That is so sad...
Let's see how many are leaders come end of February.
I vote for: None.
I vote for: None.