Manchester United can’t depend on winning the Europa League to guarantee their place in next season’s Champions League, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said.
The Old Trafford side are 5th in the Premier League, three points behind Chelsea, who possess the 4th and last compartment for Europe’s elite club competition.
United host Club Brugge later on Thursday in the second leg of their Europa League last 32 ties, which is locked at 1-1.
“In a cup competition you never know … you cannot predict, you can’t rely on, ‘we’ll win this. There are good teams in it,” Solskjaer told a news conference.
“It might be a bad day, you meet someone … so we just take one game at a time, hopefully, take as many points as we can in the league.”
Another Champions League miss for United could demonstrate expensive with the club announcing lower second-quarter income and core benefit because of their nonattendance from the competition this season.
“We’re a big club, we’ve got good finances but the longer you’re out of it, the more you’ll suffer,” Solskjaer added.
“So of course it’s an ambition for us to get back into the Champions League for footballing reasons, but also financially that will help the club.”
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