- Man United travel to San Sebastian to take on Real Sociedad in Europa League
- The Red Devils must win the competition to qualify for Europe next season
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Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro has empathy for Manchester United in their current plight and shared his view that ‘something always goes wrong’ at Old Trafford ahead of their Europa League meeting.
The Spanish international is hoping to dispel the memory of his last match against the beleaguered Premier League side in San Sebastian; a 4-0 round-of-32 thumping in 2021.
Sociedad welcome United’s 2025 vintage to Basque Country on Thursday night with the aim of heaping even more misery on Ruben Amorim and his troops.
Remiro, who was part of the Spain team that won Euro 2024, hailed the talent of the opposition ahead of the clash as he pondered the reason for their struggles.
‘I feel like the same is happening to them as happens to us, a bit,’ he told The Guardian. ‘They have players with huge potential but they don’t seem to quite find the solution to be the team they once were, to be higher up.
‘Maybe they need a run of five, six, seven games winning, but something always happens. I like the new coach, I like his ideas – I liked Erik ten Hag too – but it feels like something always goes wrong.’
Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro shared the view that ‘something always goes wrong’ at Man United
The Red Devils were dumped out of the FA Cup after a penalty shootout defeat by Fulham at Old Trafford
United’s fortunes have not improved since the appointment of Ruben Amorim in November
Sociedad have struggled for consistency this season and sit ninth in LaLiga, having finished sixth twice and fourth in their last three campaigns.
But that is still a far cry from United’s current fortunes that has seen the club plagued by a myriad of issues on and off the pitch.
It’s an unwanted set of circumstances that heaps further pressure on their Europa League campaign. Victory in the competition would grant access to the Champions League and its associated riches, which would ease the club’s acute financial woes.
However, Amorim has not been aided in this aim by the absence of Harry Maguire and Manuel Ugarte from first-team training on Wednesday. Both players sustained issues during the weekend FA Cup defeat by Fulham.
On Wednesday, Amorim insisted he is still the man to turn Manchester United’s fortunes around – but knows the price of failure if results don’t improve.
Asked if he still has the self-belief to see the job through, the 40-year-old said: ‘Yes, that is clear. I know what to do but sometimes it’s a lack of results and you have to win games, so I know consequences when you don’t win games.
‘But I am really confident since day one. A little bit more frustrated but I am still confident.’
Amorim believes winning the Europa League will not solve all the club’s problems – despite a near £100m windfall by qualifying automatically for the Champions League – but he admitted that it might change the perception of the job he is doing.
Amorim insisted he is still the man to turn Manchester United’s fortunes around – but knows the price of failure if results don’t improve
Real Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil has claimed Manchester United are favourites in the game against his side
Meanwhile, Sociedad boss Imanol Alguacil hit back at people picking his side as favourites for the tie, claiming they ‘don’t know anything about football’.
‘If someone picks Real Sociedad as favourites, they don’t know anything about football and what club we’re facing,’ he said.
‘For me, Man United are favourites to win the Europa League. We need to acknowledge who we are up against.
‘It’s true that in the Premier League they are not getting the results they want. But they are a very good team with an excellent manager.’
