Mourinho Tries to Guide Manchester United to Their First Europa League Trophy
Manchester United continues its incredible comeback and tries to secure the fourth place in the English Premier League. This will grant them a chance to play in the Champions League next season, the most important European competition. Meanwhile, the Reds have made a deep run in the Europa League and are credited with the first chance to win the trophy. They are a class above their opponents, but will face a couple of stringy teams in the last three matches.
Manchester United Fights a War on Two Fronts
Mourinho’s team lost the FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea at the end of a highly contested match. They were unlucky to have a player eliminated early on and had several opportunities to level the score. Manchester United won the League Cup against Southampton, but that trophy is not good enough to justify the major investments made during the season break. With the Premier League title out of reach, the only objective still within their grasp is the Europa League trophy.
Manchester United has won all important trophies in football and this is the only one missing. According to his recent statements, Mourinho would rather win the Europa League than secure the fourth place in the domestic championship. Obviously, they will fight just as hard on both fronts, but this statement says a great deal about their commitment in the European championship. This is traditionally a competition that English teams don’t take seriously, until it reaches the final stages.
Until now, their approach was debatable to say the least, as Manchester United didn’t try too hard to win the matches played away from home. Narrow margin victories in front of their fans were sufficient to advance to the next stage. So far, their opponents were clearly intimidated by the history and track record of the Red Devils. In the quarter-finals and the next stages, Mourinho’s players will face opponents that have more experience in European leagues and aren’t scared by the prospect of playing at Old Trafford.
It all Comes down to Motivation and Focus
The question that everyone is asking now after Mourinho’s statements is can anyone stop Man Utd winning the Europa League? A Manchester United that is motivated and willing to channel all its resources to win the trophy is virtually impossible to stop. That’s why bookmakers are so reluctant to offer bigger odds on their triumph. Given their performance so far, there is little value in the odds offered by most bookmakers, but they are definitely worth taking if the Red Devils change their attitude.
Speaking of which, Pogba still showing a poor attitude and seems unable to focus on the task at hand. So much money was spent on the French player that the fans expected him to rise to the challenge and lead Manchester United to a string of victories. Instead, he quickly lost motivation after it became self evident that his new team has no chance to win the Premier League. To triumph in the second most important European competition, every player needs to do his best, including superstars such as Pogba.
Injuries are also a major concern for Manchester United fans, especially now when their team is showing signs of resurgence. The team has won back-to-back games and winning streaks are no longer a rarity, so bookies are reacting promptly by lowering the odds. Punters can either bet on the Red Devils to cover the spread or use accumulators to maximize the return on investment. Sports betting is just one of the many facets of online gambling and players can win at more than just accumulators.
Casino games for example provide them with a different type of entertainment and a very lucrative one too. There are even sports inspired slots that appeal to punters who want to make the transition from one type of betting to the other. In anticipation of that big Manchester United break in the domestic championship and Europa League, fans can spend some quality time spinning their reels.
