“I’ve been waiting for a long time”: Semi-final hero opens up on difficult start at United and how special Thursday’s goals were

Manchester United came back from a goal down on the night to eventually dismantle Athletic Club 4-1 at Old Trafford on Thursday.

The Red Devils registered a 7-1 win on aggregate against La Liga’s strongest defence to send a message to Tottenham Hotspur ahead of their final in 13 days’ time.

It was far from an ideal start, and despite having a three-goal advantage from the first leg, the home side looked nervous and ended up conceding first.

And the visitors ramped up the pressure at the start of the second half before Ruben Amorim’s triple change completely turned the game on its head.

Subs changed the game

Mason Mount turned out to be the hero, as he grabbed a brace including a majestic second from 10 yards into the Athletic half. Incidentally, these were his first goals for United at Old Trafford since his move from Chelsea in the summer of 2023.

The Englishman has missed a whopping 60 games in his two seasons in Manchester and that can take a toll on a player’s mind. Mount revealed after the game that he has tried to remain positive during this difficult time and he got his rewards finally in the semi-finals.

“It’s been difficult since I’ve been here. I’ve had the injuries and setbacks but I always stayed positive and I knew something good was going to come. I carried on, kept on going and it has paid off in the semi-finals!,” he told TNT Sports after the game.

“It was too long… but I carried on going”

Mason Mount reflects on how hard he’s worked through injury after he scored two quality goals for Man United this evening 🤩

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“It was too long. I carried on training, working hard and trying to stay positive. When I had the opportunity to come on during games, all I was focussed on was trying to make an impact and today it paid off!”

Winning by seven goals was no mean feat and the midfielder revealed how the head coach had told the players that they would have to weather the storm in the beginning and it proved to be just that in the beginning.

“Weather the storm”

And the substitutes, including Amad were tasked with making an impact and boy did they make an impact!

“It was a brilliant performance from all the players over the two legs. We knew it was going to be difficult in the beginning, they were going to come and attack us.

“We had to weather that storm and it was important to get that first goal. Making it 1-1 calmed us down a little. I tried to come on and affect the game. It was a tight game when I came on. We tried to calm the game down and make an impact.”

The 26-year-old was asked about his second, which was quite special to witness. He explained how his goal was just to make good contact with the ball and how everything fell into place for him.

Brilliant goals

“I saw the keeper off his line and I was ahead of the other midfielders. So i thought I’ll take a touch and shoot. Didn’t meant to hit with my left. I saw the defender was quite far and all I focussed on was trying to get good contact.

His first was not too shabby either, a quick turn before a curling effort past the diving keeper. It reminded fans of Federico Macheda’s effort all those years ago.

“Same for the first one. It was instinctual, trying to get the ball and turn, create that half a yard and hit the back of the net.”

After what has been a disastrous domestic campaign, the Red Devils have the chance to end on a high in Bilbao and that is what the team will try and provide for the fans, as per Mount.

“Crowd’s been unbelievable, they have stuck with us. These were my first goals here at Old Trafford. It was a special night and one i’ve been waiting for a long time. Special to head back to Bilbao and we want to finish strong now.”

Feature image Michael Steele via Getty Images

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