Reds Excited By Champions League Group B

Ashley Young admits there’s a buzz around Old Trafford after Manchester United were drawn in Group B of the Champions League with PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow and Wolfsburg.

The Reds secured a 7-1 play-off victory over Club Brugge earlier this week and Louis van Gaal’s men discovered their group-stage opponents during Thursday’s draw in Monaco. Speaking exclusively to ManUtd.com, Young gave his immediate reaction and spoke confidently about the campaign ahead…

On United’s Group B opponents: “Everybody knows every game in the Champions League is going to be tough. The one that stands out is probably CSKA Moscow. Moscow’s a place that holds a lot of good memories for United fans – plenty of them were over there in 2008 for the Champions League final – so it will be good to go back there for them. Of course, it’s a long flight and we’ll need to make sure we deal with that correctly, particularly because we’ve got a tough home game against Manchester City that weekend. But that’s the nature of the Champions League. Wolfsburg finished second in the Bundesliga last season. We know they’re a good team so that’s going to be difficult as well. And PSV will be a tough place to start. But I’m confident we can go there and get three points to get the ball rolling and give us a platform to qualify from the group.”

On returning to the Champions League: “It feels great to be back in the Champions League. Every player wants to be playing on that stage. Last season was tough, sitting at home and watching on TV. It was disappointing but to bring those nights back to Old Trafford is fantastic and everyone’s looking forward to it. There’s an extra little buzz around the place as well because we’ve got some new players at the club and they’re ready for their first taste of the competition. We’re all excited.”

On the travel involved: “I don’t think any club are playing three games on their doorstep – flying long distances is just part of the Champions League. Yes, it can be tough when you come back from a Champions League trip and you’ve got a domestic away game, but it’s part and parcel of the game. We’re not going to complain - we’re back in the Champions League and we’re looking forward to it.”

On United’s European ambitions: “We’re definitely confident. We know the games will be tough but we’re confident we can go away from home and get points and then win our games at Old Trafford. That should see us through our group and then we take it from there. We always set targets for the season and being back in the Champions League was one of them. We got past Brugge to achieve that and now we’re aiming to bring trophies back to United. That’s what everybody at this club wants. We want trophies and, fingers crossed, by the end of the season, we’ll have done that.”

Ashley Young was speaking to ManUtd.com while attending the adidas #BeTheDifference World Finals.