Man United beat Granada in the Europa League on Thursday, thereby entering the semi-finals of the tournament where they will face AS Roma.
Granada did not prove too big a test for Manchester United but Roma will definitely push the Premier League side right to the edge. But if Man United can somehow lift the Europa League then it will go a long way in overcoming the disappointment of being abruptly knocked out of Champions League, earlier on in this campaign.
But according to the Man United manager, his side are not too far away from the European elites, despite them ploughing their trade in the second tier of Europe at the moment.
“The reality is we are in the Europa League and they are in the Champions League, that is the reality,” Solskjaer said, as per ESPN.
“But when you sit and watch the games and you know how well you’ve done against these teams, you know we are not a million miles away.
“It is about consistency. It’s sometimes little details go against you, fine margins go against you, we would love to have been going through the group stage. I felt we had done enough at one point but we just couldn’t get it over line.
“Now it’s about improving again and taking inspiration from good performances against them and learning from the bad performances and results we have had.”
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Man United had one foot in the knockout stages of the Champions League earlier this season but in the final few matches, Ole’s side had a dismal collapse.
And yes, they have upped their game since that exit but they need to do a lot of work if they wish to reach the levels of Man City or Real Madrid. Teams like City, Madrid or PSG have been the eyecathers this season in Europe and we doubt if Man United could stand up to them if they qualify for the Champions League next season.
Manchester United will need a few more signings before they can seriously think about challenging for the Premier League title and then subsequently the Champions League.
