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- Manchester United v Barcelona
- Manchester United
- UEFA Champions League
- Barcelona
The Red Devils were beaten in the 2009 and 2011 finals by the Catalans but their former goalkeeper does not believe that will be a motivation
Manchester United won’t be thinking about revenge when they take on Barcelona in the Champions League and the tie 50-50, according to former Red Devils goalkeeper Ricardo Lopez.
United take on the Spanish giants in the quarter-final first leg at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
The fixture will bring back memories of two Champions League finals between the sides in 2009 and 2011, with Barcelona coming out on top on both occasions.
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However, the chance to gain revenge for those defeats will not be United’s main motivation, according to Ricardo.
“I do not think Manchester United have that mentality of revenge,” the Spaniard told Goal.
“They more than accustomed to going out and beating anyone because they feel they should, not because they have to take revenge or anything like that.
“At Old Trafford I think Manchester United are going to press a lot but the result is very uncertain and anything can happen. I do not dare predict any results.
“I do not think Barcelona is the favourite, I think in this kind of game things are always 50-50.”
United qualified for the quarter-finals thanks to a sensational comeback against Paris Saint-Germain last month.
Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, a stoppage-time penalty from Marcus Rashford secured a dramatic 3-1 victory in the return game in Paris to send the Red Devils through.
The result appeared to go a long way towards persuading the club to hand manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a permanent contract.
The Norwegian initially joined the club on an interim basis in December but signed a three-year contract last month after inspiring a turnaround in form.
Ricardo feels United have made the right choice in opting for their former striker.
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“He is demonstrating with results that he is on the way to returning Manchester United to their rightful place,” he added.
“He got into the quarter-finals against all odds and we are going to see what he is capable of doing against a team like Barcelona.
“I think it’s a great success having opted for Solskjaer. He is a young coach, who knows the club perfectly and is one of the best exponents of the new era of coaches.”