Man United vs Celta Vigo - Mourinho urges fans to make Old Trafford 'warm enough'

Posted Thursday, May 11, 2017 by PA

Jose Mourinho has called on the Old Trafford faithful to raise the roof for a Europa League semi-final the manager claims is the "most important" match in Manchester United's history.

After a long, arduous campaign, United are within touching distance of the May 24 finale in Stockholm.

United would rather their tilt at continental glory came in the Champions League than the Europa League, but this competition offers silverware and a return to the top table.

Standing in the Red Devils' way in the last four are Celta Vigo, who arrive at Old Trafford looking to overturn a 1-0 first-leg defeat to reach their first major European final.

It is a huge occasion for the Spanish club - as it is, Mourinho says, for the three-time European champions.

"I think in terms of motivation, we are even," the United manager said.

"For Celta it is, in their words, the most important match of their history.

"And my feelings, it's also the most important match of our history.

"It doesn't matter what happened before, it doesn't matter how big matches we played before.

"What matters is the next one and the next one is (on Thursday), so I don't believe Celta dreams more than us, that Celta wants more than us.

"I really don't believe so in this aspect I don't think there will be a difference between both teams."

Mourinho wants that desire to be matched in the stands against Celta.

The atmosphere at Old Trafford has been lacking at times - certainly compared to the raucous away support - and the United boss wants to be spurred on by their fans on Thursday.

"I see a difference between matches," Mourinho said. "I don't think it's consistent, the atmosphere and enthusiasm.

"I could feel, for example, the match against Chelsea (2-0 Premier League win on April 16), they wanted to play from the first minute until the last. It was really a very strong Old Trafford.

"We had other matches, for example, against Anderlecht where the stadium was not warm enough to make us feel that it was a very important match for us.

"It was the second leg quarter-final so hopefully (Thursday) they have this feeling that it is a second leg semi-final.

"The only game more important than the second leg of a semi-final is the final, so we have to fight hard."

Celta are undaunted by the uphill battle that awaits them, with coach Eduardo Berizzo dreaming of a historic Europa League final.

United have not lost a home European match since Sir Alex Ferguson was in charge, but Berizzo is hopeful of ending that 17-match unbeaten run at Old Trafford.

The former Argentina defender said: "It doesn't matter what games I've played, the main thing is for the club. The next game is always the most important.

"Tomorrow represents a massive hurdle for Celta. This in itself is a motivation.

"Having nearly 3,000 people travelling all the way from Spain, even after losing the first leg 1-0, those fans didn't give up, even against the most powerful team in the world with 70,000 of their own fans.

"We've got to go with the attitude that in football, everything is possible.

"We need to put in a perfect performance."