Former Manchester United manager Ron Atkinson has conceded that he would not mind if the Red Devils draw Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16.
Juventus’ defeat at Young Boys on Wednesday night opened up the chance for Manchester United to top the group, but they also suffered a 2-1 loss at Valencia.
Borussia Dortmund, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are Manchester United’s possible opponents in the Champions League last 16.
Porto are an obvious favourite for Manchester United fans from the list of teams, but Atkinson admits that it would not be the end of the world if Jose Mourinho’s side faced Real Madrid.
The current European champions have looked out of sorts this season and despite their record in Europe, the former Manchester United manager feels they could be the more favourable draw for the Premier League giants.
Atkinson said, following the match, on MUTV: “The daft thing about the draw at the moment is that you might take Real Madrid.
“It seems unbelievable, but I’ll also take Porto out of that.
"Any of those top teams such as Dortmund, you’d want to avoid.
“So I might as well say for the first time say that I’d take Real Madrid in a knockout competition.”
Real Madrid suffered a 3-0 defeat at home to CSKA Moscow on Wednesday night.
