Manchester United travel to Eindhoven on Tuesday night to make their Champions League return against Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven. Former PSV man Memphis Depay will be looking to make a big impact, whilst Daley Blind and Louis van Gaal will be relishing a return to their home country; despite the tricky task that comes with it.
Trips to the Netherlands have been few and far between for United – but they’ve often been crucial. We’ve taken a look back at the last three times the Red Devils have played there…
1) Ajax 0-2 Man United – February 2012 – Europa League
United XI: De Gea; Jones, Ferdinand, Evans, Fabio; Nani, Carrick, Cleverley, Young; Rooney, Hernandez.
United’s most recent visit to the Netherlands was a happy one as goals from Ashley Young and Javier Hernandez gave the Red Devils a deserved second-half victory in the last-32 of the Europa League.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s bench included the likes of a young Paul Pogba and an older Paul Scholes but neither made it onto the pitch. Ajax’s starting eleven included Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, Vurnon Anita, Christian Eriksen and Siem de Jong – all of whom now play Premier League football at either Newcastle United or Tottenham Hotspur.
2) PSV 3-1 Man United – September 2000 – Champions League group stage
United XI: van der Gouw; P Neville, Brown, G Neville, Silvestre; Greening, Keane, Butt, Scholes; Solskjaer, Yorke.
With Gary Neville starting at left centre-back and Paul Scholes on the wing, this was one of Sir Alex Ferguson’s bold (or reckless?) experiments which truly backfired.
A year and a half after winning the treble, the Red Devils were given a pasting in Eindhoven in what is the most recent meeting between the two sides. Scholes scored a penalty in the second minute of the game, but PSV proceeded to tear United to pieces, with names such as van Bommel and Rommedahl featuring for the home side.
It wasn’t a pretty sight and Louis van Gaal will be hoping to avoid a repeat scenario – and hopefully he won’t start Schneiderlin on the wing with Darmian at centre-back!
3) Feyenoord 1-3 Man United – November 1997 – Champions League group stage
United XI: Schmeichel; G Neville, Butt, Pallister, Berg; Beckham, Beckham, Scholes, Irwin, Giggs; Sheringham, Cole
This result against Feyenoord is certainly something that Louis van Gaal would be more than happy with – a 3-1 victory including a hat-trick. The trip to Rotterdam went very well as Andy Cole scored one goal in the first half and two in the second, before Korneev came off the bench for the hosts to score just a few minutes from time.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Jerzey Dudek were in Feyenoord’s eleven but were far from at the peak of their powers and were powerless to stop United from winning their fourth game out of four in Group B of the 1997-98 Champions League. Will a United forward hit three on Tuesday night? Only time will tell…
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