“They are one of the best teams in Europe” – Real Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil on Manchester United – Football España

Real Sociedad are in a rather precarious position in their Europa League tie with Manchester United, following a 1-1 draw in the first leg on Thursday. However, it could have been worse, as they had trailed at the Reale Arena before Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the penalty spot.

It was a relatively poor performance from La Real, but the result is what matters. As per MD, head coach Imanol Alguacil gave his assessment of the state of the play in the tie after the first leg stalemate.

“I’ll take a little bit of everything. We have to live every moment in these ties. Sometimes we have to suffer and other times try to come up and be able to generate chances to win. It’s about competing at all times, even when they make us suffer.”

During his post-match press conference, Imanol spoke very highly of Man United, whom he considers to be a standout team in European football despite their struggles this season, especially in the Premier League.

“They have a lot of power, they have a lot of potential. They are well assembled, they come together… They force you to do a lot. They deserve much more. They are one of the best teams in Europe. You have to be very precise and have a lot of speed. They are very competitive there and we were able to hold on and draw, which has a lot of value.”

Imanol also gave his thoughts on how realistic La Real’s chances are of securing a victory at Old Trafford next week, and thus booking their place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League.

“We know that it is complicated and we have to know who we are playing against, but why not?”