Rostov aiming to ´make history´ against Manchester United

Rostov believe they can write a new chapter in the history of the club when they travel to Old Trafford for the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie against Manchester United.

The Russian side kept themselves well in the tie in the first leg when Aleksandr Bukharov cancelled out Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s opener to earn a 1-1 draw, although Jose Mourinho’s men will be strong favourites to progress.

But Rostov have already beaten Bayern Munich in the Champions League in their first ever European season and head coach Ivan Daniliants insists his team heads to Manchester in positive mood.

“Both clubs have their own history, but we are here to make history,” Daniliants told a pre-match news conference.

“We want to unite and to show a decent performance. We trust in our team. We believe in every single player and I am sure that if we do our best the outcome will be positive.”

Manchester United get down to business. #UEL pic.twitter.com/kbfaAS7KDo

— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) March 15, 2017

Rostov’s pitch hampered both sides in the first leg, with the surface at the Olimp-2 Stadium heavily criticised by Mourinho, while Rostov were subsequently banned from playing home games by the Russian Premier League.

And Daniliants is looking forward to seeing his team play at the more refined surroundings of Old Trafford as Rostov aim to cause a major upset.

“I think every single player of both teams will benefit from using a pitch of the higher quality,” the coach said.

“This is why I would not like to comment specifically on our style of play when we’re using this high quality pitch, just to say everyone will enjoy it.”