BETTER THAN RONALDO
Jordi Cruyff has hailed Deportivo striker Roy Makaay ahead of tonight’s game:
"Makaay is getting his usual quota in La Liga but in the Champions League he is exceptional. I think at the moment he is the most in-form striker in Europe and not even Ronaldo can touch him.
"I am not saying he's a better player than the Brazilian or other big scorers like Crespo at Inter or Inzaghi at Milan. But nobody can get close to him in my book at the moment with the manner and importance of his goals.
"If you lose your concentration against him for one second and the midfield creators put him in, then he'll be away and he won't miss.
"To score a hat trick in Munich and one in Milan, plus another against Bayern and one versus Juve shows that Makaay likes the big occasion and scores important goals.
"Occasions don't come much bigger than at Old Trafford and he'll relish it. He's a big threat especially at places like Old Trafford. There is no question he is Deportivo's dangerman.
"United have two very quick central defenders now in those two and they'll be key to keeping Makaay quiet. But I actually don't expect Deportivo to be too offensive and I think United can win it. They are not meeting a Deportivo side who are in form.”
Makaay himself, top scorer in La Liga, with 10 goals, and with eight in Europe says:
"We know that we can win against United, just as we did twice last season. We have players who can always score and we just need to create chances.
"We know that it will be difficult at Old Trafford but Manchester still have injuries and key players like Roy Keane missing. They are quality players and even a team with the strength of Manchester will miss them.
"If we play our game and play to our strength, which is playing as a team, we can beat any opposition. We have beaten Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Milan, Juventus and Manchester United in the last year, so we don't fear big names.
"We've reached the quarter-finals in the past two seasons and we want to go further this year. We're very ambitious but people have to understand we are not as big a club as Manchester.
"In the last 10 years Deportivo have grown bit by bit, but we don't have the history or the money that Manchester has. Manchester can spend a lot of money on the best players when they need to. It's not like that here.”