Manchester United have received a welcome boost ahead of Thursday night’s season-defining clash in the Europa League as Athletic Club continue to suffer an injury crisis in their forward line.
The Red Devils emerged with an unlikely 3-0 lead from the first leg in Bilbao last week after enduring an onslaught by the Spanish side to start the game.
But Ruben Amorim’s men were able to weather this early storm and fired back with a Casemiro header to go 1-0 up.
Shortly after, this lead was doubled by Bruno Fernandes from the penalty spot after Dani Vivian felled Rasmus Hojlund in the box and received a red card in the process, meaning he will miss the reverse fixture on Thursday.
United’s captain added a third to put the game to bed just before the half-time whistle with the Estadio de San Ames rocked by their side’s first-half capitulation.
There were more chances to extend their lead in the second half but the match finished 3-0, giving the Reds a massive boost for the second leg at Old Trafford.
And the latest update from Bilbao will only strengthen this optimism as three of Athletic’s senior forwards – Nico Williams, Inaki Williams and Oihan Sancet – were forced to miss full first-team training today, according to Spanish journalist Edu Velasco Jr.
The reporter reveals Nico Williams was spotted in a one-on-one session at Athletic’s training ground while his brother Inaki and Sancet were unable to take part in any training.
Sancet, 25, is the Basque side’s top scorer this season and missed the first leg against United with a muscular injury.
But both Nico and Inaki played last week and are crucial members of Ernesto Valverde’s attack, who will require a monster performance from his forwards on Thursday evening to turn around a three-nil deficit.
Velasco Jr contends Inaki and Sancet are “not ruled out” at his time but both remain serious doubts for the journey to Manchester.
At a minimum, the fact that all three of Athletic’s best attackers were unable to take part in full training today – even if Nico was able to train individually – will be a blow to Valverde; and, as a result, a boost for Amorim.
Featured image Clive Brunskill 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.
