Can Manchester United win the Champions League?

Manchester United have become a very difficult side to beat

With the away goal rule gone, a team will have to be beaten, in order to be knocked out from the Champions League. This could be positive news for Manchester United. They have proven to be a very difficult side to beat since the arrival of Ralf Rangnick as interim manager.

In recent seasons, Manchester United have suffered some big defeats. The ones at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool come to mind immediately.

But, it does not look like this current team will put in such a leaky performance at the back, as they look much more compact defensively, although that does leave quite a bit to be desired going forward.

The fact of the matter is, over 90 minutes, Manchester United have lost only once since the arrival of Rangnick, although they were knocked out of the FA Cup in a penalty shootout by Middlesbrough.

Interestingly, Anthony Elanga was the one who missed the decisive penalty on that occasion, and he scored the equaliser against Atletico Madrid in the last match.

Similarities with recent Champions League winners

In the previous two seasons, teams who have won the Champions League, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, had changed managers in the middle of the season.

There are some similarities between the 2011/12 Champions League winning team from Chelsea, and this Manchester United side as well, as The Blues had not enjoyed a great Premier League campaign that time around, finishing sixth.

Thus, anything is possible in football, and it would be a huge mistake to count Manchester United out, in the race to win the Champions League this season, even though it is improbable at this point of time.

Let’s see how things turn out over the coming weeks and months. There are reasons to be positive though.