Athletic Club call their stadium the Cathedral and all of Manchester United's prayers were answered as they earned a dream 3-0 win in the semi-final first leg which means they are already making plans for the final.
What Transpired?
Ruben Amorim's side weathered an early onslaught and Victor Lindelof had to clear a shot off the line but United grabbed the lead when Casemiro headed home after some surprising yet outstanding wing-play from Harry Maguire.
The visitors went from being in a
good place to being in dreamland when Dani Vivian pulled Rasmus Hojlund to the
floor and after nothing was given by the referee VAR stepped in, giving United
a penalty and the defender a red card.
Bruno Fernandes stuck the penalty away and
then scored again before half-time, leaving Athletic completely stunned. United
decided against going for the jugular in the second half but take a massive
advantage back to Old Trafford, which surely even this chaotic side will not be
able to let slip.
Harry Maguire (8/10):
He's not just a defender or a centre-forward, he's a tricky winger too. His nifty footwork sliced Athletic's defence open to set up the crucial first goal.
Also defended well other than
riding his luck when he brought down Maroan Sannadi for a potential red card
and Amorim swiftly took him off to keep him out of further trouble but he had
already done more than enough.
The Superior Picture of the Game
Midfield
Noussair Mazraoui (7/10):
Did well to keep Nico Williams quiet and
was effective going forward too, hitting the woodwork with a tremendous strike.
Manuel Ugarte (6/10):
Dispossessed early in the game and suffered
amid Athletic's flying start but glanced Maguire's cross to Casemiro for the
opener and then played with confidence.
Casemiro (8/10):
A stunning performance all over the pitch,
from bailing out Lindelof early on in his own area to heading in the first goal
and then commanding the midfield with all his experience and expertise.
Patrick Dorgu (6/10):
Still didn't look completely comfortable
and was too committed up the pitch when he needed to defend deeper.
Attack
Alejandro Garnacho (7/10):
Scored an offside goal and was United's most dangerous player in the early stages, limiting how much Athletic could attack. Didn't have a tangible impact on the result but his hard work and tenacity was still important.
Rasmus Hojlund (7/10):
Say what you like about him, he was
responsible for the moment which turned the tie completely in United's favour,
drawing the foul from Vivian which changed everything. Didn't have many
opportunities but his off-tbe-ball work was positive.
Bruno Fernandes (8/10):
Took his Europa League tally to seven goals with his penalty and sweetly-struck second.
Did You Known?
For Manchester United, winning the Europa League is not just about lifting another trophy. It is about survival.
After
their worst season since being relegated in 1974, hoisting Europe's
second-biggest prize in Bilbao on May 21 would take the club back to where they
both want to be and - financially - need to be: the Champions League.
For the last 30 years, United have been run as if they were always in or at least aiming to be in Europe's top competition, meaning the wage bill hasn't been altered even when they missed out on qualification.
Failing to win the Europa League, though, would mean missing out
on the Champions League for two consecutive seasons, something that has never
happened since the club first entered the competition in 1993.
But more than pride is at stake for United. Being in Europe's top competition is worth around £100 million ($134m) and could ward off fears about financial meltdown and meeting the Premier League's Profit and Sustainability obligations.
It would also make United more
attractive to players in the summer transfer window, which is crucial to
shaping next season.
What Next for Bilbao Club and Manchester
United at Old Trafford
Things are very different for Athletic Club, the team who stand in United's way of reaching the final. Athletic are having their best La Liga season in 11 years and already on course to return to the Champions League after more than a decade away.
That will
be their only third campaign in Europe's top competition, and they will savour
it. And so with fourth-place domestically all-but secured, the Europa League is
fundamentally about glory to the Basques who have the chance to win a European
trophy for the first time in the club's history.
But this season's compettion is even more important than the UEFA Cup final in 1977 or the Europa League final in 2012, both of which they lost.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to lift the trophy on home soil - and they are not going to give it
up without a real fight.
Conclusion
When you see how the crowd was today, when you see how happy you made them," Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde began after beating Rangers in the quarter-finals to set up the tie with United, "the greatest thing about football is making people happy."
And
Valverde has made fans in Bilbao very happy indeed after he delivered the
club's first major trophy in 40 years when they won the Copa del Rey in 2024.
'This means more' might be Liverpool's marketing slogan. but if any club deserved to make such a proclamation then it is Athletic.
The club's policy of only selecting players with ties to the Basque Country is well-known and celebrated by the club with their own slogan: 'Unique in the world'.
And although the policy might have limited their
potential success, it has also created an unbreakable bond with their
supporters. So when they win a trophy, boy do they make it count.
Athletic had the mother of all parties after winning the Copa del Rey, staging a trophy parade like no other.
Their
celebrations did not take place on an open-top bus driving through the city
centre, but instead on a boat, the legendary 'Gabarra' which had been sitting
dormant in the city's maritime museum for four decades, waiting for the team to
win another trophy and be released down the Nervion river.
An estimated one million fans turned out to see it, and the players were just as drunk as the supporters. "We were drinking beer like animals," striker Inaki Williams said. "Legend had told us what that Gabarra experience was like, but to live it was ultra special. It was a hard week; we played Villarreal that next night and we nearly beat them while still drunk!"
