Edwin van der Sar urges Manchester United improvement

Edwin van der Sar has urged his former club Manchester United to ditch the long-ball tactics if they are to beat Barcelona.

The goalkeeper ended his United career in last season's 3-1 Champions League final defeat against the Catalan side.

"We need to play more touches on the ball, personally speaking," the 41-year-old told Goal.com. "Not playing long anymore, we need to have more touches on the ball, especially in the midfield. Hopefully, if we do that we can beat them this year.

"We lost this year in the final against Barcelona and hopefully this season we can improve."

The Dutchman won ten major honours during his six-year career at Old Trafford.