Mason Mount has vowed that this Manchester United side are “never gonna stop” as the 26-year-old midfielder issues a rallying cry ahead of a season-defining week at Old Trafford.
The Devils travel to Bilbao to play Athletic Club in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final on Thursday evening.
Success in the competition offers Ruben Amorim’s side the last chance of salvaging an otherwise dismal season with United currently languished in 14th in the Premier League table, having already made early exits from the FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
The final of the Europe League will take place at Estadio de San Ames – Athletic’s home ground and the venue of tomorrow night’s fixture – and should the Reds emerge victorious, they will gain automatic qualification into next season’s Champions League and the vast array of benefits which comes with access to Europe’s elite competition.
Reflecting on the chaotic last-minute comeback against Olympique Lyonnais in the previous round, where United overturned a 4-2 deficit in the final 10 minutes of extra-time to win 5-4, Mount described it as a “special night.”
Speaking to the club’s in-house media, the midfielder stated, “It’s a game I’ll remember for a very long time. It’s still probably not actually settled in, what happened at the end! It was a crazy, crazy 10 minutes. We conceded the penalty and it was 4-2. We were 4-2 down and, the next minute, I was in celebrating with the crowd — it was the craziest game! I watched that goal for about two days straight after!
“I think all of us were watching it, just saying this is unbelievable. It gives you goosebumps watching the celebrations and all of us running into that corner.
“To end like that and get the win was obviously massively important for our campaign but [also] to build togetherness because you can’t win games like that if you’re not together as a team and I think we showed that in abundance.”
Mount was keen to stress Amorim’s calm management, even as the Portuguese coach watched his slip to a two-goal deficit, revealing, “He [Amorim] was very calm [at 4-2]. He gave us messages that we needed to adapt to the game. We knew going into that [second] half of extra-time that we’d have a lot of possession and they’d try to drop deep to defend the box. That was the situation, and then it’s down to us to create those opportunities and those magic moments.
“Kobs [Mainoo] had the goal, then the goal from H [Harry Maguire] right at the end. They’re the moments that we know we’ve got in us. Anything can happen. We’re never out of the game. We know what we can do, we know what we can produce.
“Our goal is to win this competition and we’re gonna do everything we can to achieve that. We know the two games coming up are going to be tough against a good team, but we want to recreate those special moments here, and obviously in the away game first. It’s going to be an amazing game, we’re all looking forward to it, and that’s the thing we’re always gonna be telling each other: ‘Never gonna stop’, because it’s never gonna be over.”
The importance of tomorrow night’s fixture with Athletic, and the implications it has on the club’s fortunes next season and beyond, cannot be understated.
The United squad will have to summon every slither of belief and togetherness Mount references to overcome the in-form Spanish side, who sit currently 4th in La Liga.
Featured image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images
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Darragh Fox
Darragh is a writer for The Peoples Person who spent three years as a history graduate slowly realising football was by far the most interesting thing to write about.
