Manchester United won 3-0 away to Athletic Bilbao on Thursday night to leave themselves in pole position to return to the city for the final of the competition on May 21
Ruben Amorim insisted a Europa League triumph wouldn’t be enough to save Manchester United’s season, but ending on a high note could help them a great deal next term. A 3-0 first-leg win away to Athletic Bilbao leaves Amorim’s team with one foot in the final, with Tottenham their more likely opponents following a victory of their own at home to Bodo/Glimt.
The game at San Mames turned on a contentious penalty in the first half. Dani Vivian was sent off after a tug back on Rasmus Hojlund, with Bruno Fernandes converting the spot-kick and adding another on the stroke of half-time as United swiftly increased their advantage from one goal to three.
United’s players remained in the Basque Country for a Friday training session, but will be back home in plenty of time for a league trip to Brentford on Sunday. Their head coach will now need to decide whether to rest players ahead of the second leg or attempt to build momentum against a Bees side who won impressively at Nottingham Forest on Thursday.
European success would bring Champions League qualification, and with it a chance to potentially attract a higher calibre of summer signing. A new striker may well be top of the list, with Viktor Gyokeres, Liam Delap and Matheus Cunha all linked.
We’ve got some reaction following the Bilbao win as well as some transfer chat. Keep reading for Mirror Football‘s latest lines from around Old Trafford.
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Harry Maguire’s vow
Harry Maguire believes Manchester United’s fans deserve to be rewarded with a European trophy for sticking with the club through a tough season. However, like Ruben Amorim, he stopped short of saying Europa League glory would save the campaign.
“It’s been a bit of a mess in the middle of the season,” the centre-back said. “The transition period, we didn’t handle it well enough as players. We didn’t take the responsibility well enough, from moving manager to manager and we took too long in embedding into new ideas.
“It’s been a difficult season, it’s been a disappointing season, but football is about memories, it’s about creating memories, it’s about winning trophies and we have a great opportunity to win a trophy. For our fans, for what they deserve, so that’s the most important thing.”
United’s advantage over Spurs
Manchester United would enjoy significantly more rest than Tottenham Hotspur if the two teams end up meeting in the Europa League final. Spurs won 3-1 at home to Bodo/Glimt in their first leg, with Brennan Johnson, James Maddison and Dominik Solanke all on target before Ulrik Saltnes pulled one back late on.
United’s last league game before the final is a Friday night kick-off against Chelsea, with the game brought forward thanks to the respective clubs’ womens’ sides meeting in the Women’s FA Cup final two days later. Spurs aren’t in action until the Sunday during that round of matches, when they face Aston Villa more than 42 hours after their potential final opponents take to the field.
Spurs attempted to bring the Villa game forward to the Thursday night to help their European chances. However, their opponents – battling for European qualification themselves – said no.
Wolves star makes Cunha admission
Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen has talked up the quality of fellow frontman Matheus Cunha amid continued Manchester United links. Cunha, who has a £62.5million release clause – is a target for a number of Premier League clubs going into the summer transfer window after delivering 15 goals and six assists in the league.
“Amazing player,” Strand Larsen told talkSPORT. “Hopefully we can keep him for a long time, but you know how it works. A player like him, scoring goals, giving assists, having great games, it’s difficult to keep, obviously.
“But he’s such an amazing guy off the pitch and then on the pitch. You can all see it. I don’t need to tell you anything. He gives passes you can’t really see. My goal last weekend [against Leicester], it wouldn’t happen if his pass wasn’t really, really top.”
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