Ajax will offer true test in Europa final, says Blind

Football Soccer - FC Rostov v Manchester United - Europa League Round of 16 First Leg - Olimp-2 Stadium, Rostov-on-Don, Russia - 9/3/17 FC Rostov's Timofei Kalachev in action with Manchester United's Daley Blind Reuters / Grigory Dukor/ Livepic/ Files

REUTERS - Manchester United must not underestimate Ajax Amsterdam in the Europa League final on Wednesday, defender Daley Blind has said.

United finished sixth in the Premier League, 24 points behind champions Chelsea, while Ajax finished second in the Dutch league, one point behind champions Feyenoord.

"They fought to be in the final and they are there for a reason," he says. "When you reach a final you absolutely cannot afford to underestimate your opponents.

"They came second in their league by a point, we missed out on the top four ... Right now there is only one game that counts, and that is the final."

Blind won four consecutive Dutch titles with Ajax before moving to United in 2014 while his father, Danny, also played for and managed the club.

"Everybody knows I support Ajax, I am from Amsterdam and I played there since I was seven, but now I am at United I am a Red and I want to win this final more than anything in the world," the 27-year-old said.

Blind was rested on Sunday as United beat Crystal Palace 2-0 in their final league game of the season.

(Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)