Rasmus Højlund has explained why he doesn’t like one narrative about Manchester United’s potential Europa League victory this season.
Manchester United have had an underwhelming season to say the least.
The Reds currently sit 13th in the Premier League and have been knocked out of both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in the early stages of the competitions.
Ruben Amorim and his team have one last chance of any positivity to come from the season as they prepare for the quarter-final of the Europa League against Lyon this month.
United are the only remaining unbeaten team in the competition and will be hoping that they can secure Champions League qualification for next season by winning the tournament.
They travel to France this week to play the first-leg against Lyon before hosting the Ligue 1 side at Old Trafford next week.
Højlund breaks silence on United narrative he doesn’t like
Many people are claiming that, despite the difficulties across the campaign, winning the Europa League could save United’s season.
This is something that Amorim has pushed back on, with the head coach more focused on seeing genuine improvement from his team ahead of next season.
Rasmus Højlund has offered his assessment on the club’s Europa League hopes and made his opinion clear on United’s aims in the competition
“If we don’t win the trophy, I wouldn’t say it has a successful European season, because that’s what we’re after,” the Danish striker told Disney+, as per Bold.
However, the 22-year-old was against the narrative that winning the European trophy would save United’s season and instead suggests that it can “provide a foundation” for improved performances next term.
“I don’t like the word ‘save’. It means you kind of forget everything else that has happened,” he added. “It can provide a foundation for next season if we can put some games together.”
Last season proves Højlund correct
Højlund assessment is correct and, after recent events, United are well aware that lifting silverware will not guarantee anything for next season.
The FA Cup victory from last term is the perfect example of that. United did extremely well to win the final against Manchester City but the season was poor overall and has only got worse since then.
Europa League victory could be significant in terms of the financial situation at Old Trafford, but for the on-pitch matters, progress on the pitch is very important regardless of silverware.
Yet, for the supporters, winning trophies in three consecutive seasons despite the amount of struggles the team have had would be extremely sweet. There’s no denying that.
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