Athletic Bilbao were bloody poor and the architects of their own downfall, but Manchester United deserve praise for ruthlessly capitalising to win their Europa League semi-final first leg 3-0 away from home.
Ruben Amorim’s side have one foot in the Europa League final, winning convincingly on the same evening Tottenham Hotspur did likewise in their first leg at home to Bodo/Glimt.
This means we are almost guaranteed a hilarious final contested between the 14th and 16th-best teams in England. It will be a battle for the ages, with two teams seemingly doing everything in their power to avoid winning.
One advantage United have over Ange Postecoglou’s side is that the final will be played on the ground they so emphatically triumphed on Thursday night. And while Bilbao shot themselves in the foot with a first-half red card, Amorim’s men deserved the win and showed up when it truly mattered.
This United team have been saving their best football for Thursday nights under Amorim, and a 3-0 win against a side who only tend to lose to very good teams (and Girona), and who had only lost twice by two or more goals all season before this, is no small feat.
United started brightly but could easily have gone behind when Inaki Williams headed over with the freedom of Andre Onana’s box. The elder Williams brother had an alarming amount of space and really ought to score, with the Red Devils defence once again playing musical statues.
That was the first let-off involving Williams, whose low cross was poorly dealt with by Victor Lindelof – but thankfully, the Swede was on hand to clear Alex Berenguer’s shot off the line from his own weak clearance.
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It was an open and entertaining game. Alejandro Garnacho – who had an early goal disallowed for offside – was terrorising Bilbao’s aging defence with his blistering pace. He’s rarely looked so dangerous, and up against 35 and 36-year-old full-backs, it was crucial he was on it.
Patrick Dorgu’s speed on the opposite flank was also causing problems. Oscar de Marcos resorted to pushing the young wing-back over during a foot race he had absolutely no chance of winning at one point.
Both teams looked dangerous in their own right, but just before the half-hour mark, United struck first. There were a few unlikely heroes for Amorim in what was a genuinely hilarious goal.
Flying right-winger Harry Maguire was twisting and turning like a prime Arjen Robben, and his cross was reminiscent of a prime David Beckham. It was expertly turned goalward by Manuel Ugarte, whose header found Casemiro at the back post to nod in. Seriously, it was bloody brilliant from Maguire. Ironically sensational.
United looked to build rather than sit, and soon had VAR checking for a penalty. Noussair Mazraoui’s beautiful low cross was dealt with woefully by Dani Vivian, who felt compelled to hold back Rasmus Hojlund rather than let him shoot – an act that seemed daft even without hindsight given Hojlund’s goal record this season.
We were thinking that even before the referee brandished a red card and Bruno Fernandes stepped up to score the penalty. It turns out letting Hojlund shoot definitely was the right thing to do. Bloody hell…Vivian is supposed to be the young one in that back four.
Two players were sacrificed three minutes before half-time as Ernesto Valverde desperately tried to make sure his side were still in the tie for next week’s second leg in Manchester.
Unfortunately for him, Amorim’s men had enough time for a third before the break. Captain Fernandes was on hand again, calmly slotting home one-on-one with Julen Agirrezabala. Not even Manchester United can mess it up from here, right?
Mazraoui struck the crossbar with a beautiful left-footed effort shortly before the half-time whistle, which came at a rubbish time for a United side in full flow.
That was all she wrote in terms of goals, and taking a three-goal lead back to Old Trafford is mightily impressive. We wouldn’t be surprised if United c*ck this up, but even by their standards, that would be something special.
Bottling this semi-final would officially be funnier than winning the whole thing and stumbling into the Champions League. But honestly, both are extremely amusing outcomes. The important thing is: we can’t lose from here.
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