United Hungary to improve record

Manchester United will be looking to maintain their recent stranglehold over Hungarian opposition when they take on Zalaegerszegi in their Champions League qualifier tomorrow.

It will be the sixth time the Old Trafford outfit have faced a side from the former Communist country in European combat and they have not lost to Hungarian opposition since the 1985 UEFA Cup quarter-final, when Mark Hughes and Frank Stapleton both missed penalty kicks in a 5-4 shoot-out defeat to Videoton.

That was to be the last game United would play in Europe for five years because of the UEFA ban and, ironically, it was Hungarian opposition they faced on their return, Clayton Blackmore launching a successful run to the 1991 Cup Winners’ Cup final with the opener against Pecsi Munkas at Old Trafford.