Manchester United fans were hoping their club would draw against Sporting Lisbon to avoid fears of an early exit from the Champions League. Well, sometimes you don’t get things so easy in life!

As Manchester United aim to retain their European title, the road is getting tougher than ever. The Reds, who qualified top of Group E with only two wins in six games, now face Italian Giants Inter Milan.

The main attraction of the fixture is about the rivalry between the two managers, Manchester United’s Sir Alex Ferguson and Inter Milan’s Jose Mourinho.

The former Chelsea boss has quite good memories against the old Scot and he might want to repeat something of the 3-0 win he had at Stamford Bridge back in 2006, this time with the Nerazzuri.

Manchester United will have to face their opponent away at the San Siro in the first leg which takes place on February 24th , before welcoming Jose Mourinho back to England for the second leg on May 11th at the Theatre of Dreams.

The Red Devils are well aware of Jose Mourinho’s threat as the Portuguese knew how to embarrass them in disappointing adventures whenever Chelsea clashed against Manchester United.

Phil Townsend, the communication manager of Manchester United, expects Alex to revenge himself on his opposite number Jose Mourinho:

“We’ll be trying to put one over on José this time and get the result that the fans want, and the club wants,” he revealed.

If facing Jose Mourinho is a tough mission, coming up against Inter Milan is rather a good sign in terms of history. Phil Townsend explains:

“It’s a very exciting draw. We’ve only met Inter once before in the Champions League and we got through then, and maybe it’s a good omen because it was in 1999 and we ended up winning the tournament.”

Ten years after memorably lifting the Champions League trophy in 1999, Manchester United will once again meet Internazionale and a repeat of history will come much at the club’s delight.

In the meantime, Milan’s director Ernesto Paolillo also knows the importance of clashing against the defending champions. And he is full of confidence that his side can beat the Reds and eventually go on to win the title with the help of their Portuguese Champions League winning coach:

“I’m sure Mourinho will be happy with the draw, he wanted Manchester United and now he has them,” Paolillo told Sky Sport Italia.

“I think the motivations will be there for everyone to beat United. They are the European Champions and so motivations will not be short.

“This can give the team a massive shock in terms of getting ready for the game.

“It will be a great game for us and if we beat them then I think we can go on to lift the trophy.

“We know how to get past big obstacles as we have a team full of great players.”

The suspense has just started…

Written by: Angela Asante