Red Devils eye crunch match to fend off exit
Former European champions Manchester United must fight to reach the ‘bridesmaid’s’ last 32
Paris — Europa League nights are a distraction for some, due to far lower prize money than the Champions League, but a means of staying in touch for others such as Manchester United, who are seeking to reach the last 32 on Thursday. United are one of five former European champions playing in what, compared with the Champions League, they view as a bridesmaid’s competition. A fifth-place finish in the Premier League kept them away from the European game’s top table for a second straight year — last season bringing an ignominious exit to, of all teams, arch-rivals and five-time European champions Liverpool. Jose Mourinho, thus far thwarted in his ambition to become the first coach to win the Champions League with three different clubs after glory with Porto and Inter Milan but failure with Chelsea and Real Madrid, must currently eye more modest goals as his side host Feyenoord. United stand a point behind the Dutch and Fenerbahce, who beat them in their last outing in Istanbul to open...
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