Pellegrino: Let's see how we measure up

For Mauricio Pellegrino, tomorrow's showdown with Manchester United represents an ideal fixture at this point of the season.

playing against the top teams in the world allows you to push your limit higher.

mauricio pellegrino
southampton manager

José Mourinho's side head to St Mary's joint top of the Premier League, following a superb start to the campaign, and Pellegrino is keen to see how his players will measure up against them. 

"Playing against the top teams in the world allows you to draw some conclusions and to push your limit higher," he said.

"Football has got something that is really beautiful – in team sports, you can beat even the best team in the world, and you can lose against the smallest team in the Premier League, or the second division, or the third division.

"You have to show on the pitch 100 per cent how you are, and I think we have to push the game in this situation that we think we will be better than them."

The game will also offer Pellegrino a reunion with Mourinho, who was on Louis van Gaal's staff at Barcelona when the Saints boss played there in the 1998/99 season.

"We were teammates in Barcelona," recalled Pellegrino. "After, when he was at Chelsea, I was one week watching his training session when I was preparing my licence to be a coach.

"I know him, I knew him in the past, but now it's a nice challenge, playing against Manchester United and Mourinho's team.

Above: Saints train ahead of Manchester United.

"It's a top team with top players – one of the biggest teams in the world and for me he will be there at the end of the season, fighting to win the Premier League.

"I repeat, they are a top team, but we want to improve, we want to push our limits, and this sort of a game is a nice opportunity for us.

"Hopefully the team can show our fans that we want to win the game, and that we want to give our best to try to feel really proud."