Emery has United in his sights

Valencia coach Unai Emery has challenged his side to upset Manchester United away from home and secure a first-place finish in Group C.

Valencia booked their passage into the Champions League round of 16 with an emphatic 6-1 demolition of Bursaspor on Wednesday, and can steal top spot from United with victory at Old Trafford in a fortnight.

Upsetting Sir Alex Ferguson’s men on the road will not be easy, but after witnessing his side rout the Turkish champions Emery believes Valencia are capable of great things.

“We’ve managed to achieve victory by quite a large margin and for that I am happy along with both the team and our fans,” Emery said.

“My team has suffered the odd setback at home in recent times but today we were lucky that our opponents failed to find the net until late in the game.”

“We’ve completed the task of getting through to the next phase and now we want to finish first in the group.”

“We have a great opportunity to do that when we next take on a team (United) that managed to beat us here at home.”

“Looking at that next round, we’ll be looking to perform with all of our intensity in order to make it to the quarter-finals.”

“This team is capable of going very far in the three competitions we are currently competing in.”

Bursaspor coach Ertugrul Saglam was despondent after Wednesday’s loss, their fifth straight in the Champions League, and said the blame rests with him for a poor European campaign.

“There’s not much to say about this heavy defeat. Valencia played very well and gained a deserved victory,” Saglam said.

“We are very upset that our fans witnessed such a poor display from us and we have to apologise for it.”

“Neither the president nor the players should feel guilty about this loss. If there’s a price to pay, I have to be the one. In the shortest time possible, I’ll do whatever is required.”

“I want to underline again, I am the sole person responsible for the defeat.”

“We have important games ahead of us and we need to bounce back quickly. By increasing our motivation to the highest possible point, we need to prepare ourselves for the crucial games against Kayserispor and Besiktas.”

“Those matches will be the key to staying close to the summit of the Super Lig.”