Manchester United have a big UEFA update.
It has been a long and gruelling season for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United. When the season commenced almost a year ago no one would have anticipated that it wouldn’t be completed by this point.
Yet the delay in the season has benefited the Red Devils. Not only did it ensure the fitness of Marcus Rashford and Paul Pogba but it also gave more time for Bruno Fernandes to settle and consequently thrive in United colours.
The football has been seamless since the re-start and United go into their Europa League campaign as one of the favourites.
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A trophy would be the icing on the cake after an impressive season and there is major optimism Solskjaer and his team can bring it home.
The Red Devils already hold a major 5-0 aggregate over their Austrian opponents LASK and should advance into the quarter finals barring a miracle.
It will be an easy and smooth preparation for the tougher games which the Red Devils will encounter in the latter stages of the tournament.
However, UEFA have informed the club about some important changes ahead of the re-commencing of the Europa League.
United’s official website has released a statement about the UEFA changes in regards to penalty kicks.
"“The laws on penalties now state an offence by the goalkeeper is not penalised if the spot-kick misses the goal or rebounds from the goal (without a touch from the keeper) unless the offence clearly affected the taker. The keeper is warned for the first offence; it is a yellow card for any further offence(s). The kicker is penalised if the keeper and the kicker offend at exactly the same time.”"
The new update has opened up the opportunity for goalkeepers to be sent off during the penalty shoot-outs which could make the kicks even more dramatic than before.
Of course United will want to avoid penalty kicks. The outcome of games decided in such dramatic circumstances are never easy for fans to handle.
In that instance that it does happen, United are well prepared with some impressive penalty takers in Rashford, Fernandes, Greenwood and Pogba who are all well versed in the art.
The Red Devils received a record number of penalties this season so they are certainly well practised too.
One thing for sure the Europa League promises to be one of the most exciting events in the this year’s football calendar alongside the Champions League.
A victory could be transformative for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Let’s hope for everyone’s sanity it will not hinge on a dramatic penalty kick.
What do you make of the new penalty changes?