Paul Scholes believes that Manchester United is capable of defeating FC Barcelona in the round of 16 of the Europa League.
The Red Devils failed to qualify directly for the Europa League round of 16 after finishing second in Group E, behind Real Sociedad. Both teams finished their group campaign with 15 points each, but the Spanish team edged out Man Utd to secure first place.
Second place means Manchester United have to play a two-leg playoff and win the tie to seal a place in the Europa League round of 16. The draw for the Europa League round of 16 took place this Monday and the Red Devils faced FC Barcelona.
Barcelona are out of the Champions League after finishing behind Bayern Munich and Inter Milan in Group C. However, a third-place finish in Group C gave Barca a place in the round of 16 draw. Europa League final.
Man Utd are capable of beating Barcelona, ​​says Paul Scholes
Scholes had named Barcelona as the team he would love to see Manchester United draw and probably the team he wants them to avoid.
Scholes, before the Europa League round of 16 draw, said that Manchester United is capable of defeating Barcelona.
“I would love for them to draw Barcelona so that the juiciness flows and achieve a good atmosphere. I think they are capable of beating Barcelona,” Scholes told BT Sport.
He added: “On the other hand, they are a very good team. As much as I want to play against them, they are probably the team you want to avoid.”
Meanwhile, Barcelona manager Xavi reacted by drawing Manchester United in the round of 16 play-off. He admitted that Barcelona have the most difficult rival.
Meanwhile, Man Utd suffered a 3-1 loss at the hands of Aston Villa in their last game in the Premier League. The Red Devils faced Aston Villa in an away game but found themselves trailing by two goals in the first 11 minutes.
Man Utd halved their deficit thanks to Luke Shaw’s deflected shot from outside the box just before half-time. However, Aston Villa restored their two-goal lead early in the second half, scoring their third goal of the game in the 49th minute.
Meanwhile, Barcelona sit at the top of the points table in La Liga. The Catalan team has 34 points in 13 games in the Spanish top flight and has a two-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid.
