
Manchester United
Premier League • England
Schmeichel admits Man Utd cannot match Man City as ‘one of best in the world’ but are ‘on our way’

Peter Schmeichel feels the FA Cup final is a “great opportunity” for Manchester United to “measure” themselves against “one of the best in the world” in Manchester City.
United’s form in all competitions this season has been good. They won the League Cup in February, Erik ten Hag succeeding at his first attempt at silverware as United boss.
They have since reached the FA Cup final, beating Brighton in the semi-finals.
Moving into the final came in the same week as United were dumped out of the Europa League, losing to six-time winners Sevilla in the quarter-finals.
The Red Devils have also maintained decent form in the Premier League. Indeed, they’re currently fourth, level on points with third-placed Newcastle United, who have played a game more than United.
All things considered, Ten Hag’s side are having a pretty good season. This rise has been needed, given they’ve failed to finish in the Premier League top four in four of the last seven seasons.
What’s more, before this season, their last trophy came in the 2016/17 season, when they won the Europa League under Jose Mourinho.
As such, they’re clearly trending in the right direction under Ten Hag.
Schmeichel feels Man Utd are smaller than City
Despite the upwards trajectory they’re on, United legend Schmeichel feels their local rivals Man City are currently the bigger side.
“Being Manchester United, we actually claim that we are the biggest club in the world, you also have to compete at the very, very highest level,” he said on BBC MOTD.
“At the moment, you only have to look at what Man City have, we cannot match that at the moment.”
Indeed, City have won the Premier League in four of the last five seasons and they’re in the hunt for the title again this campaign. Furthermore, they’ve now reached at least the semi-finals of the Champions League three seasons in a row.
FA Cup final is great test for United
While City have clearly bettered their rivals in recent years, Schmeichel feels things are levelling out. On top of that, he feels the FA Cup final – the first-ever all-Manchester affair in the competition’s final – is a great chance for United to test themselves.
“We are on our way, but that is a great, great opportunity to go out there and measure yourself up against one of the best teams in the world,” he said.
Whoever wins, the final between the two rivals is sure to be a massive game. Glenn Murray feels the historic occasion is a fixture that people across the globe will tune into.
“The whole world will want to watch that one, they’ll tune in for that – United against City, I think it’ll be a good final,” he said.
READ MORE: Man Utd make up for European ‘hurt’ as Ten Hag hails ‘resilience’ in reaching FA Cup final