Changes to the group seedings meant that finishing top still left us open to drawing a strong 2nd placed team; thankfully we were paired with a new opponent in Sevilla.
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Unlike the previous 2 seasons 2017/18 was spent solely in the top tier of European football, and the for the first time in 4 years we made it to the knock out rounds.
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The 2016/17 Europa League final (our 15th game in this years tournament) left just AFC Ajax in the way of a return to the heights of European football, and that all important missing trophy.
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The city of Madrid is synonymous with the European Cup & Champions League; Real have won it a record 13 times (including the last 3 and first 5 in the late 50’s) whilst Atletico have been runners up 3 times, the two clubs have also faced each other in 2 of the last 5 finals (as well as this season’s Super Cup). This year the match will be hosted at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, which has been home to Atletico Madrid since 2017.
The 2017/18 season saw United receive almost £150m in prize and television money. Their 2016/17 accounts show that gate and match day income was £107m, whilst there was a £49m profit after all turnover and costs. There’s more money in football than ever, and the fact that the television deals are more valuable to clubs than tickets shows that there’s room for clubs to consider fans and the rising costs we’re faced with.
Now that the dust has settled on another European season it’s time for me to reflect on this year’s travels in the Champions League. Unlike the previous 2 seasons it was spent solely in the top tier of European football, and the for the first time in 4 years we made it to the knock out rounds. In United’s continued period of transition it represented progress, even if it was ultimately uninspiring, ending with the defeat at Old Trafford to Sevilla.
For the first time in 4 years United made it to the knockout stages of the Champions League, with 5 wins from 6 in a relatively straightforward group. Changes to the group seeding in recent years meant that finishing top still left us open to drawing a strong 2nd placed team, including Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus. Thankfully though we were paired with a new opponent and a trip to Seville.
The European season has been an enjoyable one for United this year; back in the Champions League again with 4 wins from 4 and 10 goals along the way. With us all but qualified for the knockout round a trip to Switzerland was almost a formality as we looked to secure top spot in the group, even if there were likely to be European giants waiting for us.
As reigning Portuguese champions, Benfica were an ideal pick from the top seeds in the group draw back in August. One of two teams in Lisbon and the country’s most successful, United have frequently faced them, most recently in 2011 as well as the victorious European Cup final against Eusébio and co. in 1968. Portugal is actual United’s 5th most visited country but until now it was one that had eluded me.
The last few months of European football have been full of both elation and realisation for United; Europa League glory in May followed by a stark reminder of the quality of teams we’ll have to face this season after the Super Cup final against Madrid. Fast forward to next May and it’s the final in Kiev, Ukraine.
It’s probably fair to say that one of the least anticipated games of the season is one that usually comes first – not all, or just any, but the “curtain-raiser” of the English season, the Community Shield. Few really remember the outcome of this game between the previous season’s league and cup winners, and it’s rarely acknowledged as a trophy, even if it does kick the season off positively as United experienced last year.
Ahead of our trip to Macedonia for the UEFA Super Cup, I spoke to some local fans who run the website Manchester is my Heaven (http://manchesterismyheaven.com). Here’s a copy of the Q&A I did with them which was first published (in Macedonian) – http://manchesterismyheaven.com/ekskluzivno-intervju-dzoni-penington
We’ve Won the F*cking LotAfter last year’s efforts the 2016/17 European season felt like it had a lot more to offer, even if was to be spent solely in the Europa League. Despite remaining the only competition United had never won, the early prognosis was that it was the least important trophy up for grabs in Mourinho’s first season, with the league an obvious priority and other cup wins simply a bonus.