Manchester United eyes Europa League final in 'most important' match vs. Celta
Jose Mourinho is putting a lot of eggs in Manchester United's Europa League basket.
With Manchester United set to host Celta Vigo in the second leg of the Europa League semifinals on Thursday (3 p.m. ET, FS1), Mourinho has called the match "the most important match of our history." This is the Manchester United that has won 20 league titles in England's top flight and three Champions League titles.
(His full quote, for context sake, reads: "For Celta, in their words, it’s the most important match of their history and my feeling is that it’s also the most important match of our history. It doesn’t matter what happened before, what matters most is the next one. I don’t believe Celta want it more than us.”)
Now for Mourinho, there is huge incentive for United to go on and win the Europa League. The club is in a fight for a top-four finish in England, and the Europa League trophy comes with a ticket to next season's Champions League. With United linked to the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and plenty other available (or unavailable) superstars on the market, it's a lot easier to make a sales pitch when it can include the Champions League stage. It's a lot more difficult to ask a player who can name his price in the transfer market to buy into the continued rebuild at the storied club.
Standing in its way is Celta, a Spanish club that could control the future for not just Manchester United but also Real Madrid, given it is the opponent in Real's game in hand in La Liga's title race. United nurses a 1-0 lead after the first leg in Spain, where Marcus Rashford's sublime free kick was the difference.
Here are the lineups for both sides:
Stay tuned here for updates and highlights of goals and key plays throughout the match, as one club books its place in the final against either Ajax or Lyon.
