Ruben: It’s not done

Ruben: It’s not done

Ruben Amorim insists Manchester United’s Europa League semi-final is not done, despite the Reds taking a three-goal lead into next Thursday’s second leg at Old Trafford.

Casemiro’s header and a double from Bruno Fernandes put United in the driving seat at San Mames and Athletic Club could not respond.

The Basques played the final 55 minutes with 10 men after Dani Vivian was sent off for hauling down Rasmus Hojlund in the box.

Fernandes converted the penalty for United’s second goal, and it was a moment Amorim saw as a turning point.

But, in his post-match interviews with the media, the head coach added that a similar thing could always happen to the Reds in M16, and that we should not take anything for granted.

The key to first-leg success, Ruben? Video

The key to first-leg success, Ruben?

Ruben says United were able to push forward more after scoring the first goal against Athletic Club, who started well…

IT’S NOT OVER

“I think the result is really good but we have to understand the result also, at the same time. We struggled a lot in the beginning, but the goal from Casemiro and the sending off changed the game. But that is a good thing, with a little bit of luck we managed to stay in the game and anything can change with one situation. I think we had opportunities to score one more. This is not done. They can do the same in Old Trafford because they are really strong, they are really intense. One sending off can happen in our stadium, so we need to be prepared.”

EXPERIENCE COUNTS

“Even players like Ugarte have a lot of experience but he was a little bit nervous. Patrick was a little bit nervous. It’s a semi-final, of course it’s not the Champions League but it’s a European competition, so these kind of players like Casemiro, Harry, Bruno Fernandes help a lot.”

MAGUIRE’S MIDAS TOUCH

“Sometimes you have these moments in your life, when everything he did was bad for him. I don’t know a better word to describe it. Now everything he does is helping the team win important matches, so he needs to enjoy it and the players need to understand the life of a footballer is like that and everything can change in one moment.”

ROTATION KEY NOW

“Of course, we are in the advantage, we have our fans, but again this could change. Anything can happen in one game. Of course, we are confident but we need to be really careful with our players against Brentford, because you can feel it. Nous Mazraoui is dead [tired], Patrick is tired, so we have to manage the players.”

WHY SO GOOD IN EUROPE?

“There is something in life and in sport: luck. We suffered some goals in the Premier League sometimes and we start the game losing 1-0 and then it’s really hard. In the Europa League we had some luck this year in the key moments and then we play well.”

RETURNING REDS

“When you see Luke Shaw playing, he’s a top player and everything he does is with class and quality. He needs to push himself really hard because we need guys like Luke Shaw and then Amad is really important one against one. You can feel it, he doesn’t yet have that explosion to go one against one but the opponent is always looking for that. Matta is really important for us. He’s really fast, really strong and good in the build-up so I’m really pleased [to have him back].”

EUROPA LEAGUE MOTIVATION

“It’s not Champions League, it’s not because of that. We know that we are underperforming this season. We want to give something to our fans, because we feel that support every day, no matter what position we are in the table.”

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