Paul Scholes admitted last week that he couldn't make his mind up on whether drawing Barcelona in the Europa League would be a good thing or a bad thing for Manchester United.
Monday's draw saw United pitted against Barca, a tie Scholes previously suggested would "get the juices flowing". The United man was asked after the Real Sociedad win last Thursday which club he would like the Reds to face in the Europa League playoff round, and despite admitting he would love to draw Barca, he did add that the La Liga giants would be the toughest possible opponents.
United finished second in their group and so were confirmed as having to play a Champions League drop-out for a place in the last 16. Speaking on BT Sport, Scholes said of the draw: "I would love them to draw Barcelona to get the juices flowing and get a good atmosphere.
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"I think they are capable of beating Barcelona. On the other hand, they are a really good team. As much as I want to play them, they are probably the team you want to avoid."
Scholes was also asked for his thoughts on how he rates United's chances of progressing, adding: "If you’d have asked me after the first two league games I would have said not a chance.
"But, you look at them now and the step up in quality in midfield has been really good. There are some really tough teams in there. As I say, Barcelona would probably be the toughest, but I would like to see that. It would be a massive game and a spectacle and something we would all like to watch.
"But with the rest of the teams, I think they would be confident of getting through."
His fellow pundit and ex-United midfield colleague Owen Hargreaves concurred, saying: "I would want to avoid Barcelona because that could be a really hard game. Get them in the final. They are all really good footballing sides with some good managers. In all fairness, there is no easy draw for Manchester United.
"In the end, they will be the favourites outside of Barcelona."
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