Man Utd boss Rangnick: Europa League qualification very important | OneFootball

Manchester United caretaker boss Ralf Rangnick says qualifying for the Europa League today will be important for the club.

Should they slip up at Crystal Palace it would open the door for West Ham to leapfrog them into sixth place if they can defeat Brighton in their own last game. That would then condemn United to a season in the UEFA Conference League.

United reached the final of the Europa League in 2021 before losing to Villarreal in heartbreaking circumstances on penalties but did manage to lift the trophy themselves in 2017, defeating new manager Erik ten Hag's Ajax. Rangnick reckons United's history in the competition, as well as it being another route to the Champions League, shows just how crucial being in it is.

“Yes. I mean it's bad enough that we aren't going to play on a Tuesday and Wednesday night in the Champions League," he told United's in-house media. "But knowing that we are going to play Thursday evening, I think it's important.

"Even more so for the players, also for our supporters that we qualify for Europa League because in Europa League, Manchester United reach the final the season before. The last season they played in the final against Villarreal and Frankfurt won the Europa League two days ago in style, qualifying for Champions League. This is why I think it's very important to qualify for the Europa League."