Fellaini: Second Leg Will Be Different

Marouane Fellaini believes Manchester United's crucial Europa League quarter-final clash against Anderlecht on Thursday will be a different occasion to the first leg.

The Reds were held to a 1-1 draw in Belgium last week as Henrikh Mkhitaryan's first-half goal was cancelled out by a late header by Leander Dendoncker.

Although he expects another tough game in the second leg, the Belgian midfielder feels the familiar surroundings of Old Trafford will help United in their bid to reach the semi-finals of the competition.

In an exclusive interview with United Review, the club's official matchday programme, Fellaini said: "It will be a tough game again. Every game is tough. When we play against a foreign team or even an English team, they all want to beat Manchester United so they will give everything to try to do that.

"But we have a big chance when we play at Old Trafford. We know how to play there and we will give everything to try to reach the semi-finals. I think Thursday will be a big game and we will do everything to win.

"This game will be different. The stadium is three times bigger than the stadium of Anderlecht, so it will be a completely different atmosphere. Everyone in the club – the players, the manager, the staff – wants to go all the way, so we work for that."

The Reds go into the second leg on a high after last weekend's memorable win over Chelsea and will be looking to take another step towards the Europa League final in Stockholm by making it six wins out of six home games in the competition this season.

"We have done very well in the games [at home in Europe] and scored a lot of goals too," Fellaini commented. "Now, we must continue this and win again on Thursday so we can go on to the semi-finals.

"The fans are always looking forward to the European matches and of course they will help us. They will create the noise and push us to try to win the game which is important. We are getting closer and closer to the final which is where we want to be. But we can only think about Thursday now and go for it.”