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Thursday 01 May 2025 22:01
Manchester United are in control of our Europa League semi-final at the halfway stage, after beating Athletic Club 3-0 in Bilbao.
The Reds withstood early pressure from the Basques and could have fallen behind in the stadium where this year’s final will be held on Wednesday 21 May.
But Casemiro headed us into a 30th-minute lead and the momentum truly shifted when Dani Vivian was sent off for hauling Rasmus Hojlund down inside the box.
Bruno Fernandes converted the resulting penalty and stamped his authority on the tie by netting again just before the interval.
Noussair Mazraoui and Casemiro came close to stretching our first-leg advantage further when hitting the woodwork, but the Basques will need something miraculous in Manchester next Thursday if they are to prevent us from returning to this part of northern Spain later in the month.
FIRST HALF – REDS RUN RIOT
Ruben Amorim warned that the hosts would bring aggression and intensity, and the Basques harried United from the off.
The Reds – clad in blue in Bilbao – struggled to keep the ball at times, although Manuel Ugarte did thread a pass through for Alejandro Garnacho to find the bottom corner after five minutes.
It was seemingly the perfect start, but our no.17 turned around and glanced the linesman’s flag, with subsequent replays showing that he’d initiated his run just a touch too early.
At the other end, a slip in possession allowed Alex Berenguer to bear down on goal, but Andre Onana did well to turn his effort behind for a corner. Onana was then thankful that he could stand and watch Inaki Williams’s header clear the bar, when perhaps the Ghana international should have done better given the quality of Berenguer’s cross.
Berenguer was finding joy crashing into the box from midfield, forcing Victor Lindelof into a timely block after the Swede had only half-cleared the initial danger. A goal seemed inevitable and, on the half-hour mark it came – but it was those of an English persuasion celebrating, and not the Basques.
The effort will be credited to Casemiro, and the Brazilian was in the perfect position to divert Ugarte’s header into the net, but Harry Maguire’s initial work out on the right was extraordinary, as the big centre-back collected the ball and shimmied his way past Yuri Berchiche into a crossing position.
Moments later, the Reds were given the opportunity to double our advantage, as Hojlund was pulled back inside the six-yard box by Vivian.
The misdemeanour was initially missed by referee Espen Eskas but the Norwegian eventually overturned his decision and, after pointing to the spot, he had no choice but to give Vivian his marching orders – Athletic’s no.3 had made no attempt to play the ball.
Fernandes stepped up and casually sent Julen Agirrezabala the wrong way to leave the home support reeling.
They fell silent on the stroke of half-time, when our captain stayed cool and lifted the ball past the Athletic Club keeper following Ugarte’s clever flick, and it almost got even better for Amorim’s side, as Mazraoui rattled the crossbar seconds before the whistle blew.
Bruno scored twice in the first 45 minutes, taking his European tally to seven for the season.
SECOND HALF – A PROFESSIONAL PERFORMANCE
Ernesto Valverde’s outfit were evidently shellshocked by the manner in which the tie had seemingly slipped away from them, and the former Barcelona manager shuffled his pack to try and reassert a foothold.
The 10 men now sat deep in a 4-4-1 formation, allowing United’s three central defenders to sweep the ball from side to side under little pressure.
Garnacho had a further penalty shout waved away by Eskas, while San Mames was clearly aggrieved when Maguire escaped censure following a coming together with Maroan Sannadi that was more of a 50-50 tussle.
United rode the storm as the Basque crowd briefly bristled against the officials and we had the next big chances, when Casemiro forced Agirrezabala to palm over from long range. The Brazilian then nodded against the post from the subsequent corner.
There were welcome returns for Matthijs de Ligt and then Amad as the second period wound on, while Agirrezabala prevented the night becoming any worse for Athletic when palming away drives from Fernandes and Garnacho.
In injury-time, the hosts pushed for a late goal to reduce their task in M16, but United held firm and will now aim to complete the job next Thursday.
It was great to see Amad return after 12 weeks out.
MATCH DETAILS
United: Onana; Lindelof, Maguire (De Ligt 65), Yoro; Mazraoui (Shaw 74), Ugarte (Mount 65), Casemiro, Dorgu (Amad 84); Garnacho (Mainoo 84), Fernandes; Hojlund.
Subs not used: Bayindir, Heaton, Amass, Fredricson, Kamason, Eriksen, Mantato.
Booked: Mount, Garnacho, Yoro.
Goals: Casemiro 30, Fernandes 37 (pen), 45.
Athletic Club: Agirrezabala; De Marcos (Gorosabel 43), Vivian, Yeray, Berchiche; Jauregizar, Galarreta (Prados 46); I.Williams (Djalo 87), Berenguer (Paredes 43), N.Williams (Unai Gomez 79); Sannadi.
Subs not used: Simon, Vesga, Guruzeta, Nunez, Lekue, Canales, Boiro.
Booked: Berchiche, Simon, Yeray.
Sent off: Vivian.
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Thursday 01 May 2025 22:01
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