New Delhi, Oct 8 (IANS) : India cricketer and lifelong Manchester United supporter Yuzvendra Chahal has backed the English giants to mount a strong challenge for a better position in the Premier League after the international break, drawing confidence from the team’s fighting spirit and unpredictability following his recent experience of watching the Manchester Derby live at Old Trafford.
Chahal, who travelled to the iconic stadium to watch Manchester United take on neighbours Manchester City, said his attachment to the club goes back to his childhood and remains an important part of his sporting life away from cricket.
“What I really like about this United team is the fight and the unpredictability. Matheus Cunha is someone I really admire, the way he plays with such energy, takes on defenders and keeps pushing the players around him. I genuinely believe this team can still surprise people. As a United fan since childhood, I’ll always believe in the team and keep backing them. That’s what being a football fan is all about,” Chahal told JioStar.
For Chahal, supporting United is not simply about following results. The cricketer said the club has been part of his life since he was young, with watching important matches alongside friends becoming one of the pleasures of following the Premier League.
“Manchester United has been a childhood love for me, so the Premier League is something I genuinely enjoy following whenever I get the time. One of my favourite things is getting my friends together, sitting with them and watching a big United game, there is always so much emotion and banter!”
That passion took on a different dimension when Chahal experienced the Manchester Derby from inside Old Trafford. The occasion offered him the chance to follow one of English football’s biggest fixtures not from a television screen, but from the stands.
The contest also produced the kind of twists that made the experience particularly memorable for the United supporter. Chahal felt the balance could shift in his side’s favour after City were reduced to 10 men, only for the match to deliver further frustration.
“I watched the Manchester Derby recently. When City went down to ten men, I really felt United would find a way to get the result, and there were moments when it looked like we could take the game. To then see Haaland score and the goal go through that whole VAR drama was painful as a United fan! But that’s football, sometimes you get the result you want and sometimes you don’t,” he added.
With the Premier League set to resume after the international break, Chahal expects United to have another opportunity to alter the narrative around their campaign.
