Manchester United huffed and puffed on the night but made it to the Europa League final with a flattering 4-1 win over Athletic Club.
For long stretches of the semi-final second leg Ruben Amorim’s side were desperately poor and were lucky to be only one goal behind their visitors with an hour gone.
But the Portuguese turned the game on its head with a positive triple change, which introduced Mason Mount, Amad Diallo and Luke Shaw to the fray.
And Mount proved to be the difference maker, turning in comfortably his best display in a United shirt to cause delirium inside Old Trafford.
The Englishman scored two goals, the first a vital equaliser to pull his team back into the game and his second an inspired finish from some 50 yards out over the head of the helpless Athletic Club goalkeeper.
The goals topped off a magnificent half hour for the 26-year-old, whose energy revitalised United and saw him affect more than just the scoreline.
Mount took two shots and found the net with both, and beat his man with the single dribble he attempted.
On a night where United were excruciatingly bad at keeping possession, Mount recorded a 100% pass completion rate, accurately dispatching 12 passes. He was also the only player in red not to lose possession even once.
He was typically dynamic in the number 10 role, tracking back and getting stuck in to foil a wearying Athletic Club attack.
Mount contested six duels and won four of them, with his four successes coming from five attempted ground duels as he was beaten in the air for his one contested header.
He got stuck in and made three tackles – only three of his team-mates managed more, and they all spent much longer on the pitch than he did.
Whether his dazzling display tonight is enough to earn him a starting berth in Amorim’s side for the final later this month remains to be seen, but it was a memorable night for the player who has finally opened his chapter at Old Trafford.
Stats taken from sofascore.
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Joe Ponting
Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried.
