Ahead of their crucial Champions League group stage match against Manchester United, former Chelsea FC winger Andre Schurrle expressed his surprise at the fact that the Red Devils have not been able to find the back of the net as often as they are normally expected to.
Manchester United find themselves facing a must-win match at Wolfsburg, with Dutch side PSV Eindhoven breathing down their neck in Group B.
The Red Devils have been poor in front of goal, managing to score just a handful of goals in their last five matches in all competitions. However, they now find themselves in a situation where they need to win to be sure of their spot in the Round of 16 in the Champions League.
A draw might not be good enough, as PSV, who are just one point behind United, can qualify with a win over CSKA Moscow. Also, PSV have a better head-to-head score in the group stage against Manchester United, which means that if the two teams finish on the same amount of points, it is the Dutch side that will go through.
Speaking to the media ahead of the Champoins League match against United, Schurrle said that he was surprised that the Red Devils are struggling to find the back of the net.
a It’s a little bit surprising because they have great players, great offensive players,a Schurrle was quoted saying in Daily Mirror. a It’s a little bit surprising United have struggled to score many goals, but in the end they are amazing players and they know where the goal is, so we have to be very careful about these players.
a I wouldn’t say it [United’s fear factor] has decreased, because when you speak about Manchester United, you know they have great players, always.”
However, the winger also said that Wolfsburg would be looking to take full advantage of this, and get the early goal to frustrate Louis van Gaal’s side.
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a It’s always important to get the first goal. If we can get it, then psychologically it will be good for us because we’ll get a little bit more space and stuff like that,” Schurrle added.
Van Gaal just trying to get the best out of Schweinsteiger, says Wolfsburg boss
Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger has been the latest player to be criticised by Van Gaal, but Wolfsburg manager Dieter Hecking does not believe that this is anything out of the ordinary. He believes that it is just a case of the manager trying to get the best out of one of the top players in his side.
a I think Van Gaal plays on the words of that a bit,a Hecking said. a When we played them at Old Trafford he was very good, he was very influential. I think Van Gaal is psychologically very clever in the way he wants to gee up his players.a