Jose Mourinho has confirmed that Sergio Romero is set to start in goal as Manchester United host Anderlecht in the Quarter-Finals of the UEFA Europa League.
Jose Mourinho has started Sergio Romero in goal in majority of the Europa League matches up until now and the Portuguese confirmed in the pre-match conference that the Argentine is set to retain his place in goal on Thursday, in a crunch second-leg tie against Anderlecht in the UEFA Europa League.
The Portuguese highlighted the fact that he doesn’t like to segregate among his goalkeepers and the Sergio Romero is not his Europa League goalkeeper but the second-choice at Old Trafford while also stating that De Gea has played a few Europa League matches and Romero has played in the Premier League as well.
“No, he’s not my goalkeeper for the Europa League. He’s my goalkeeper for tomorrow. He was my goalkeeper in the other matches, but he’s not my goalkeeper for the Europa League. I never like to do that complete separation. The reality is that Sergio is very stable, he’s very experienced, he’s playing very well.”
“He played in the Premier League [against Sunderland], he played well. He played in the FA Cup, he played well. He played in the League Cup, he played well. Every time he plays, he plays well. He’s very stable.”
This season in the Europa League, Manchester United have won 5 out of 5 matches at home and have conceded just the 1 goal.
— Rahul Singh (@forevruntd) April 20, 2017
Positive vibes in today’s training session… ? #UEL #MUFC pic.twitter.com/Amq47UEva8
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 19, 2017
Mourinho lamented the unavailability of Smalling, Jones and Mata while providing a positive update on Wayne Rooney. The manager said that while the player has been struggling to return to fitness after missing the last four fixtures due to an ankle problem, he could be back on the bench on Thursday, depending on how he feels.
“He’s working now, he’s improving and if in this training session [this afternoon] the answer is positive, I would select him to be on the bench tomorrow. I cannot confirm now but the paparazzi that live in the Lowry Hotel, they can take the picture when we go to the hotel at six o’clock and see if Wayne is selected.”
Jesse Lingard, who uploaded a picture on Instagram after the Chelsea fixture, that hinted that the player was playing with a knock, was not touched upon in the pre-match conference and the Englishman could very well be rested for the tie, with a series of important fixtures up ahead.
Manchester United need to stop Anderlecht from scoring to ensure a win. It is likely to be anything but easy. However, Mourinho would hope the quality in his side can be up to the task and the Red Devils can advance to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League.
