Wayne Rooney revealed that the UCL final loss to Barcelona has turned into the chief motivation for the Manchester United players.
The red-hot England striker is set to lead the line when the Red Devils take to the San Siro pitch later tonight in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie against AC Milan.
With European glory at stake, Rooney took a walk down memory lane to reveal his biggest motivation ahead of the tie.
He told the Mirror, "It was a weird night,
"It was obviously an achievement to get there, but then it was just a horrible, horrible feeling losing to Barcelona.
"The memory of that night has made me determined to get back there again.
"Actually, what motivates me even more is the previous season when we won the final in Moscow, the feeling after that game was something special, probably the best moment of my career so far, and I want to experience it again.
"But Barcelona hurt us all."
Rooney also picked out the players in the current Milan team who could hurt United's chances of progressing to the final eight.
He said: "It is going to be a difficult game because they are a very experienced side.
"I've already played them twice in the Champions League and each time they knocked us out, so we know it will be tough, but hopefully this time we can come out on top.
"They've got quite a few, players like Clarence Seedorf, Andrea Pirlo, David Beckham from set pieces, and Alexandre Pato is a quality player too. All their players can produce something special, so we have to be careful.
"It is always difficult to play Italian opposition. At the beginning of the season I think they were struggling a bit, but over the last couple of months they found some good form and they are playing well, so it will be a difficult game for us."
As for the one man who could stop him from continuing his sensational goalscoring form this season, the former Everton youngster singled out a defender who many regard as one of the best in the world.
He added: "Personally I know how tough it is going to be, especially if Alessandro Nesta is playing for them.
"In the other games, his positional sense was brilliant, and it was difficult. Because he reads the game so well, it was difficult to play against him.
"It's where I have to take the chances I get, because there won't be many. In the Premier League you know that you're always likely to create a few chances every game.
"But in the Champions League, especially the knockout rounds, you know if you have a chance you really have to take it - because you might not get another chance in the game."
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