‘We must show our Champions League quality’

Andreas Pereira has challenged Manchester United to demonstrate that we belong in the Champions League next season, ahead of the crunch top-four showdown with Chelsea on Sunday (kick-off 16:30 BST).

The Belgium-born Brazilian has urged the squad to grab all three points in the game, which he accepts the Reds have to win if we are to qualify for European football’s premier competition next term.

“It’s a must-win,” stressed Andreas. “We have to show we want the top four and, in these games, we have to show our level and show we are worthy to be in the Champions League.

“We want to do everything we can to get into the top four. We have to take each game on its own and get the three points. We have to stick together as a team and work together and try to get the three points in each game.”

Despite United’s disappointing recent form, the Academy graduate is pleased with his experiences so far in 2018/19, having made 14 of his 33 club appearances to date in the four months since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returned to the club in December.

As if to underline his development, the midfielder was selected in the Norwegian’s starting XI for the recent Manchester derby.

“I’ve learnt so much,” he revealed. “Overall, for me, it’s been a special season – I got my first start, scored my first [Premier League] goal and played in my first derby, although the result was disappointing. I feel like I have got better on a lot of things and the manager and the staff have helped with me with everything.

“I’m so grateful to him [Solskjaer] that he puts his trust in me, and I just want to show on the pitch that he can trust me in every game. I want to play and do well for the team.”

Andreas also had kind words for his midfield colleagues, Fred and Paul Pogba, the latter of whom has been named in the PFA Team of the Year for 2018/19.

“We [myself and Fred] played in central midfield at the start of the season, and hopefully we can start more games [together],“ he added.

“Paul is a world-class player, everyone knows it. You can see it every day, he has experience and I’m very happy for him and very happy that he’s with us at United.”