Schneiderlin Sizes Up Wolfsburg Mission

Morgan Schneiderlin says Manchester United will approach the final Group B game against Wolfsburg as though it was the Champions League final itself.

To reach the knockout stages, the Reds must pick up three points in Germany or else rely on CSKA Moscow to prevent PSV Eindhoven from winning the other game on Tuesday night.

Louis van Gaal's men were frustrated by PSV in a goalless draw last time out in the competition and now face a tough task against a German club that had a formidable home record before losing to Shinji Kagawa's late winner for Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

When asked if winning at the Volkswagen Arena would be a tall order, Schneiderlin, who could be a doubt for the trip, told United Review: "It is but we’re confident we can do it. We beat them at home and, to go through to the next round, we don’t want to hope for CSKA Moscow to win or get a result in Eindhoven.

"We have the destiny in our hands and know what we have to do to get through. It’s very important for the football club and for the players to get to the next stage and we are going out to win in Wolfsburg. They are a very good team and it’s never easy in Germany but we will prepare for this game as though it was the final of the Champions League."

The disappointing stalemate with PSV was clearly an unhappy experience for the France international, who admitted the Reds lost momentum in the second half at Old Trafford.

"Against PSV there were two different halves," said Schneiderlin. "I think we did well in the first half and created some chances, which is what we wanted. We couldn’t find the back of the net but we did okay with keeping possession so there was some running but it was enjoyable running.

"We were moving with the ball and running into space. In the second half, for whatever reasons, I lost and we lost the ball too many times and that made us run after it a lot. So it was the kind of running you don’t enjoy very much. We couldn’t get the ball back as quickly as we wanted. These kind of halves can happen sometimes but we were still good enough to keep the clean sheet."

Schneiderlin appreciates the need for United to be rubbing shoulders with the continent's elite again after missing out on the competition altogether last season.

"The Champions League group stages are important but the real aspect of the competition is the knockout stage," he added. "You know the best 16 teams in Europe are involved and we are looking forward to trying to put Manchester United in this category.

"Last year, we did not have the Champions League here so we are determined to get among the best teams in Europe. After that, anything is possible. We know over two games in the knockout stages, anything can happen and we really want to get there, step up and give our best."