After a struggling start to the season, Manchester United have come back to form in the Premier League with a 4-0 win over Wigan at the weekend and they haven't conceded a goal in the league since the derby day defeat to Man City on August 19. Part of the reason is French full-back Patrice Evra, who has been a fixture in the side this season alongside Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, after displacing Gabriel Heinze from the left-back spot with some impressive performances in last season's campaign.
The defender, who arrived at Old Trafford in May 2006, has spoken exclusively to ESPNsoccernet.fr before leaving England for France and Les Bleus' forthcoming matches against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania. Talking about Manchester, Arsenal, the French team and the new Evra:
Question: The season started quite poorly but Manchester United have made a fantastic come-back, winning eight games in a row in the Premier League and Champions League. What happened exactly?
Evra: Many people have commented on our supposed 'terrible start' but we actually just drew twice and lost once. It was anything but a drama. Now we're back behind Arsenal in the League and we have six points out of six in the Champions League. We have kept our opponents goalless for the last eight games so the confidence is high. But we have to keep it there.
To win six times 1-0 isn't possible for every team in England. It requires a complete defensive focus and that proves that we are mentally strong. I remember that last season, in the last few weeks, we were facing problems to dominate and impose our style but we always found a way to win, most of the times 1-0. It's in those moments that we recognize the great teams and let me tell you that this United team can go really far.
Question: But you have to admit that you struggled early on. The team hasn't been able to reproduce last year's seducing football yet. How do you explain that?
Evra: We have many new comers (Owen Hargreaves, Nani, Anderson, Carlos Tevez) and both the team and themselves needed some time to learn and get the chemistry right. I admit that we're not very pleasant to watch at the moment but we fight and we win, which is the most important thing. On the one hand it's very promising. We should see a terrific Manchester United in the up-coming weeks and I really hope we will score more goals soon. It will come, I have no doubt. But for us defenders it is a huge satisfaction to end the games without having conceded. We have really improved in that area and when we get better offensively, we will still need to keep that defensive strength.
Question:In the Premier League, Arsenal are still comfortably leading. What do you think about the new look Gunners side?
Evra: They remind me of us last season. We started really well, scoring a lot of goals in exactly the same way the Gunners are doing currently. But there are other contenders. I will quote Chelsea and Liverpool. Although Chelsea lost Jose Mourinho, I'm sure they will be hard to beat. Blackburn are also outsiders. We suffered against Birmingham and that shows that this championship race is very tight, more so than last year. But it is true that Arsenal are destroying everyone at the moment and even pick up results when they are under pressure, as they showed against Sunderland.
Question: In Champion's League, the team have been perfect so far with two wins and no goals against. The qualification for the knockout stage seems already in the pocket even before the trip to Kiev. Is this situation dangerous?
Evra: We will have to win there. Definitely. An away win is always a bonus and although we have six points, nothing has been achieved yet. We have to stay focused. In football, everything changes quickly and we can't forget that. We have the skills and the tools to win this year's Champions League but the competition is long. I don't want to look for excuses, but last year we faced many injuries and, in this competition, talent isn't enough.
Question:You are now the only left-back in the squad after Gabriel Heinze left for Real Madrid and Mikel Silvestre got injured for the season. With no competition, do you feel more comfortable?
Evra: I don't say to myself my status is granted. I had a very good season last year, as I was elected the best left-back in England. When you play for Manchester United though, one good game isn't enough. You have to beat your best all the time. I don't try to do things I can't do, I leave the show to Ronaldo. For me, the most important thing is to defend and do that well.(ESPN)
The defender, who arrived at Old Trafford in May 2006, has spoken exclusively to ESPNsoccernet.fr before leaving England for France and Les Bleus' forthcoming matches against the Faroe Islands and Lithuania. Talking about Manchester, Arsenal, the French team and the new Evra:
Question: The season started quite poorly but Manchester United have made a fantastic come-back, winning eight games in a row in the Premier League and Champions League. What happened exactly?
Evra: Many people have commented on our supposed 'terrible start' but we actually just drew twice and lost once. It was anything but a drama. Now we're back behind Arsenal in the League and we have six points out of six in the Champions League. We have kept our opponents goalless for the last eight games so the confidence is high. But we have to keep it there.
To win six times 1-0 isn't possible for every team in England. It requires a complete defensive focus and that proves that we are mentally strong. I remember that last season, in the last few weeks, we were facing problems to dominate and impose our style but we always found a way to win, most of the times 1-0. It's in those moments that we recognize the great teams and let me tell you that this United team can go really far.
Question: But you have to admit that you struggled early on. The team hasn't been able to reproduce last year's seducing football yet. How do you explain that?
Evra: We have many new comers (Owen Hargreaves, Nani, Anderson, Carlos Tevez) and both the team and themselves needed some time to learn and get the chemistry right. I admit that we're not very pleasant to watch at the moment but we fight and we win, which is the most important thing. On the one hand it's very promising. We should see a terrific Manchester United in the up-coming weeks and I really hope we will score more goals soon. It will come, I have no doubt. But for us defenders it is a huge satisfaction to end the games without having conceded. We have really improved in that area and when we get better offensively, we will still need to keep that defensive strength.
Question:In the Premier League, Arsenal are still comfortably leading. What do you think about the new look Gunners side?
Evra: They remind me of us last season. We started really well, scoring a lot of goals in exactly the same way the Gunners are doing currently. But there are other contenders. I will quote Chelsea and Liverpool. Although Chelsea lost Jose Mourinho, I'm sure they will be hard to beat. Blackburn are also outsiders. We suffered against Birmingham and that shows that this championship race is very tight, more so than last year. But it is true that Arsenal are destroying everyone at the moment and even pick up results when they are under pressure, as they showed against Sunderland.
Question: In Champion's League, the team have been perfect so far with two wins and no goals against. The qualification for the knockout stage seems already in the pocket even before the trip to Kiev. Is this situation dangerous?
Evra: We will have to win there. Definitely. An away win is always a bonus and although we have six points, nothing has been achieved yet. We have to stay focused. In football, everything changes quickly and we can't forget that. We have the skills and the tools to win this year's Champions League but the competition is long. I don't want to look for excuses, but last year we faced many injuries and, in this competition, talent isn't enough.
Question:You are now the only left-back in the squad after Gabriel Heinze left for Real Madrid and Mikel Silvestre got injured for the season. With no competition, do you feel more comfortable?
Evra: I don't say to myself my status is granted. I had a very good season last year, as I was elected the best left-back in England. When you play for Manchester United though, one good game isn't enough. You have to beat your best all the time. I don't try to do things I can't do, I leave the show to Ronaldo. For me, the most important thing is to defend and do that well.(ESPN)
0 comments:
Post a Comment