Manchester United made their return to the Champions League knockout stage on Wednesday with Jose Mourinho, himself back on familiar ground, said it is too early to judge their chances of going all the way in the competition.
“I normally say that Champions League dreams start around the quarter-finals and not yet,” Mourinho warned as he spoke at the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium on the eve of the first leg against the Spanish side.
“I never thought I would win it with Porto or Inter before reaching the quarter-finals. Some clubs are in this moment more ready to win it, but when you reach the quarter-finals that is when any team can feel that anything can happen.”
Meanwhile, the January signing of Alexis Sanchez indicated United’s ambitions, and Mourinho is hoping the Chilean can seize his chance in the Champions League, a competition in which he never made it past the last 16 with Arsenal.
“I think if Alexis came in January, when he could have signed in the summer, it was due to the attraction of playing in the Champions League,” said Mourinho.
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