Old Trafford was witness to yet another magical European night as Manchester United came back from a goal down to thrash Athletic Club 4-1 in the Europa League semi-final second leg on Thursday.
An aggregate win of 7-1 against La Liga’s meanest defence is no mean feat and sets it up brilliantly for the final against Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao in 13 days’ time.
Despite an aggregate 3-0 lead, it was a tough start for the hosts as the Basque side dominated the first 45 minutes, getting a goal in the 31st minute.
They put the home side under a lot of pressure at the start of the second half, which Leny Yoro helped weather on his own at times. That prompted Ruben Amorim to make a triple substitution, which changed the game completely.
Brilliant cameo
Mason Mount grabbed a brace, while Casemiro and Rasmus Hojlund got in on the act as well. And the head coach did not fail to mention Amad’s contribution as well.
In 27 minutes, he grabbed the assist for Hojlund’s goal, which he put on a plate for the Dane after fabulous work down the right.
His ability to maneuver in tight areas and dribble past players is magical to witness and on Thursday, he completed a 100% of his dribbles during his cameo.
He had one shot which was blocked while three of his touches were inside the penalty box while one of his passes was into the final third.
Selection dilemma for Amorim
Not only with the ball, the Ivorian was class off it as well, recovering the ball twice while winning all his ground duels as well as aerial duels (all stats via fotmob).
This display will certainly make Amorim think about who he is going to start either side of the attacker against Spurs at the San Mames on May 21.
While Alejandro Garnacho runs straight at defenders, and is very direct, the Ivory Coast international can do a lot of different things and it is good for the head coach to have multiple options ahead of the biggest game of the season.
Amad’s return from injury has been timed just right with the 22-year-old netting once and assisting one in his last two substitute appearances.
Feature image Michael Steele via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
