Manchester United face CSKA Moscow in the Champions League at Old Trafford today, with Sir Alex Ferguson warning the hosts they have not qualified for the latter stages just yet.
Ferguson’s side have won all three of their Champions League matches so far, including the corresponding fixture in Russia, and stand on the cusp of reaching the knock-out stages.
They are huge favorites to make that four wins out of four against a CSKA side that are currently lurching from one crisis to another.
After sacking Brazil legend Zico in September, his replacement — former Tottenham Hotspur manager Juande Ramos — lasted just 46 days in charge before he was also shown the door last week.
As a result, new coach Leonid Slutsky’s first game in charge of the club will be against United — a formidable challenge for anybody, never mind a coach trying to reunite a dressing room that is said to be hugely divided.
Ferguson is by no means complacent about the challenge CSKA are likely to pose to his team, however, citing the fact that the visitors must win if they wish to keep their own Champions League ambitions alive.
“In a way, I think it might be tougher than it was over there,” Ferguson said. “I think that over there they needed to win so we kept our patience, and kept the ball and run them into a difficult position, and they didn’t quite know how to beat us. Now the situation is that they need to win all their games and it’s going to be difficult to qualify, so I don’t know whether they’d come to Old Trafford and have a go, but it’s more clear-cut for us in that we’ve got to attack them and do it with a purpose as we have to do in home games.”
United are likely to have one eye on next weekend because they are playing Chelsea in a Premier League clash that could help dictate the destiny of the title.
Despite Ferguson’s claims the Moscow game is going to be tough, he may well decide to rest stars such as Edwin Van der Sar and Ryan Giggs to ensure they are fresh for the encounter with Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
A victory for United would also mean they could afford to give fringe players some valuable Champions League experience in the two final group matches after the CSKA game.
“If we win on Tuesday we’ve won the group, that’s the incentive, so we’ll put the accelerator on because of that,” Ferguson said.
Sunday’s 3-1 defeat by FK Moscow brought an end Ramos’ reign at CSKA and a, perhaps unfair, level of expectation is now resting on Slutsky’s shoulders.
A win at Old Trafford would herald the dream start for the 38-year-old, but if he is being realistic, he must have accepted a place in the Europa League is now the best he can produce, despite the hopes of others at the club.
“We need to build a new team, which only a Russian manager can do,” owner Evgeny Giner said. “The contract with him has been signed for three years. Our trust in Slutsky is as big as our enthusiasm about the club’s prospects.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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