Club Brugge vs Manchester United: Louis van Gaal suggests match is biggest of his Old Trafford tenure

Club Brugge vs Manchester United, 7.45pm

Samuel Stevens
Wednesday 26 August 2015 05:52 EDT
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(Getty)

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Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has said tonight's Champions League qualifier second leg clash with Club Brugge is the biggest match of his time at Old Trafford.

The 64-year-old takes his side to Belgium holding a 3-1 lead from the first leg after a double from Memphis and a late strike from Marouane Fellaini gave the hosts victory last Tuesday.

United have made a decent start to the new Premier League campaign, securing 7 points in three games, but the main objective remains securing their place in the Champions League.

Asked if this is the most important game of his United career, Van Gaal said: "Yes, because it was our aim for the last year to participate in the Champions League and still we are not participating.

"It is a preliminary round so it’s very important. You have to play the game. At the end you must have scored one more goal than the opponent.

"They have also beaten Greek opponents 3-0 [Olympiacos] and they are capable of doing that with the support of their fans. We have seen their fans in Manchester and I think they shall support them a lot on Wednesday."

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss does not expect to make wholesale changes to his starting line-up for tonight's clash.

Memphis Depay with Manchester United team-mate Daley Blind
Memphis Depay with Manchester United team-mate Daley Blind (GETTY IMAGES)

"I don’t think my players will take it easy," the Dutchman explained during his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

"We have had the same preparation and I don’t think they shall start differently to last week's match.

"Fellaini’s goal was very important because now we can start this game with a lot more confidence. But, as you know, maybe we had to finish it much earlier in that game."

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