Last night, Manchester United won a huge game in the UEFA Champions League, beating VfL Wolfsburg 2-1 at Old Trafford.
The match saw Andreas Pereira make another step on his way towards the United first team. Pereira came on, just past the hour mark, as a substitute for left winger Memphis Depay.
Unfortunately the young Brazilian came on at a tough time for Manchester United. The reds were being pinned back by Wolfsburg’s 5 man striker force, so Pereira was forced to defend for a lot of his game time.
Pereira defended very well; he was strong and persistent, helping to cut out many of Wolfsburg’s right wing attacks. Naturally, he is a much more attack minded player but his willingness to protect United’s slim lead was very impressive.
Speaking to ManUtd.com, Andres had this to say about his Champions League involvement:
“I’m very happy that I can have my chance now and I’m very pleased that the manager has given me this opportunity,”
“I hope I can do well, as I am doing, and continue my form.”
“I’m very pleased with the performance against Wolfsburg, I think it was really important for us to win and hopefully we can kick on from here.”
“I think it’s very important for me also to play in a competition like this. I played my first 30 minutes in the Champions League and hopefully I can play more and more games now.”
Manchester United’s Champions League group, Group B, currently stands with all four teams on 3 points with a 0 goal difference. Domestically, the Red Devils sit at the top of the league but, Pereira has insisted the importance of the team staying grounded.
The Brazilian says:
“I think we’re very confident in the dressing room but we have to keep both feet on the floor and take every game as it comes,”
“Hopefully we can win the next game against Arsenal now and continue from there. Every game is tough.”
“Every game in the Champions League is obviously tough, as well as every game in the Premier League so we have to take each one on its own. We need to stay focused and continue to train hard.”
Manchester United start their top of the league defence with a tough trip to The Emirates to play Arsenal, on Sunday.
