Villarreal vs Manchester United LIVE: Champions League result, final score and reaction tonight

Manchester United have only won seven of their last 24 away Champions League matches with six draws and 11 defeats. They are winless in their last four on the road (one draw, three losses) since a 2-1 win at Paris St-Germain in October 2020.

Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was asked whether the players needed to take any responsibility for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking after their poor performances have seen United lose their last three games. He replied:

Paris Saint-Germain have been in contact with Zinedine Zidane and coaches including Antonio Conte in the last few months in preparation for the possibility of losing Mauricio Pochettino to Manchester United before the end of the season.

Pochettino, who was appointed by PSG in January, has leapt to the top of United’s list of targets following the sacking of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after it was made clear to them that he would be interested in making the deal happen and soon.

Manchester United have failed to keep a clean sheet in the Champions League this season, shipping seven goals in their four games but Villarreal have never beaten an English club in the Champions League in 11 attempts with six draws and five defeats.

Will tonight be the night they get their first win?

Villarreal head coach Unai Emery says he expects a tough test from Manchester United despite their poor run of form and feels they will raise their standards in Europe. The former Arsenal boss said:

Tonight’s clash will be taking place at the Estadio de la Ceramica in Spain and qualification for the Champions League knockout satges is at stake.

Manchester United’s players have been checking out the pitch including Donny van de Beek who starts this evening following his goal against Watford at the weekend.

Less than 45 minutes until kick off in Spain where Manchester United will be hoping to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League. Speaking of their opponents tonight, interim boss Michael Carrick had this to say about Villarreal:

"They’re a very good team, very well-organised, very well-coached. Two different games in some ways. In the [Europa League] final I thought we did really well, stopped them for long periods but we didn’t have a cutting edge in the final third and that hurts when you get so close but we weren’t good enoughon the night to finish it off.

“The first game [this season], it was pretty much what we expected. They’re a team that play the ball well, have got some nice connections over the pitch, good technical players who can pass the ball and keep the ball off you at times as well as speed and penetration on the last line, so for them it’s a good mix, a good balance.

“So we respect that, yes, we played them a couple of times so we know each other a bit better, so we go there with a plan to go out on to the pitch and we really look forward to the game. It’s a big game for both teams at this stage of the competition, that goes without saying but one that we go there and really look forward to.”

When Jose Mourinho’s scorched-earth series was finally canned by Manchester United and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was given caretaker charge of the wheel, a select group of journalists had an off-record audience with Ed Woodward.

Naturally, an enquiry was made over the club’s big picture for the managerial position and their confidence over landing primary target Mauricio Pochettino, then at Tottenham, in the summer.

United’s executive vice-chairman is understood to have sniggered as he retorted: “You all think we want him, but that would be the easy choice. Too easy. It’s Julian Nagelsmann we like.”

This is Villarreal’s sixth Champions League match against Manchester United. The Yellow Submarine are winless in all five previous meetings with four draws and just on defeat.

Since losing 2-1 to Manchester United in September, Villarreal have won each of their last two Champions League games, beating Young Boys twice. They are looking to win three consecutive matches in the competition for the very first time.

At his first press conference since taking over from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Michael Carrick says his job is to bring positive results to the club for players and the fans. He said:

"The biggest thing for the fans and for us is the results. I can sit here and say all sorts of different things and I would be speaking the truth about the training and how much we want to do well for this club. Honestly, right now, sitting here I don’t think I can say so much, it’s about what we do in the next day, over the next few days and getting the right results, how we perform on the pitch, how we carry ourselves, how we behave.

“There’s a responsibility we have playing for this club which is not at many other clubs and that’s something that we embrace and got to respect massively all the time I’ve been at this club. That’s what I expect for the players for sure."