The Europa League is undoubtedly a competition Manchester United do not want to compete in, however, it is equally obvious that it is a competition they would like to win. 

Having booked their place in the quarter- finals at the expense of LASK Linz, the Red Devils will be looking to replicate the success they achieved three seasons ago by winning Europe’s secondary club competition. 

However, fans are in for a rude awakening should they believe this season’s road to the final will be a walk in the park as the quality of opposition could prove to be anything but. 

It goes without saying that fans will begin making comparisons between this campaign and the cup-winning season of 2017, and there’s no better place to begin than with the run in. 

Monday's quarter-final fixture

This season’s road to the final continues with a quarter-final tie against Danish giants FC Copenhagen in a one-legged knockout in Germany. 

Copenhagen come into the tie full of confidence after overturning a one goal deficit to overcome Istanbul Basaksehir in the previous round. 

The Danish side currently sit 39th in UEFA’s club coefficient rankings, ahead of European goliaths and fellow Europa League competitors Inter Milan (51st), showing they have more than enough quality to hold their own this season. 

One of the stalwarts in Copenhagen’s side this season has been right- back Guillermo Varela, a name which may sound familiar to United fans.  

The Uruguayan was David Moyes’ first signing after taking over at Old Trafford and played a fairly substantial role in United’s 2015/16 Europa League campaign. This season he has made a name for himself in Denmark since his arrival, making 41 appearances in all competitions so far this season. 

Following their 2nd place league finish which secured a place in next season's Europa League second qualifying round, an elongated run in this year’s competition would boost the club no end. 

2017's quarter-final comparison

Similarly, United were strong favourites to progress from their quarter-final tie in 2017 after they were drawn against a youthful RSC Anderlecht side. 

Despite being underdogs, Anderlecht were more than a match for United before a ball had even been kicked boasting a plethora of young talent. The Belgian side's talent included Youri Tielemans and Leander Dendonker, who have since become integral parts of Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers’ squads respectively. 

Despite their supposed superiority, United’s star-studded line up struggled to overcome the stubborn Belgians both home and away.  

The first leg in Belgium ended level following a brilliant late Dendonker header which cancelled out Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s effort from an improbable angle. 

The return leg at the Theatre of Dreams was no easier. Mkhitaryan opened the scoring inside the opening 10 minutes before Sofiane Hanni equalised just after the half-hour mark. 

As the players were dragged into extra time, the underdogs began to grow with confidence.  

However, their resilience was broken by Marcus Rashford’s 107th minute strike as United crawled over the line to set up a semi-final clash with Celta Vigo

With the Red Devil’s new found confidence, along with their 7-1 aggregate win on Wednesday night, the expectation among fans is that this season’s clash should be more straight forward. 

However, if this season is anything to go by, nothing is certain in football, especially when United are involved. 

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