Key events
47 min: A reminder that Bilbao have only shipped ten goals at home in La Liga all season.
Bilbao get their party the second half started. They’ve made another change, replacing Ruiz De Galarreta with Prados.
Half-time postbag. “Athletic apparently going to avoid the pain of a humiliating upset loss in a European final to a Premier League club who had no right to be there in the first place, by doing it in the semi-finals instead” – David Howell
“It seems that Amorim has finally come up with a Plan B: to get Maguire out onto the wing and deliver Beckham-like crosses. Man Utd have been remarkably clinical” – Steven Crawford Grundy
“Until the first goal, Athletic were by far the better side. This may be my neutral’s hope that the tie isn’t over speaking, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the ten Basques can shut up shop and maybe nick a goal late on. United can easily let a two goal lead slip at Old Trafford, where they seem more nervous than on their travels. It isn’t over, yet” – Kári Tulinius
Breaking news! The crossbar hit by Mazraoui has just stopped rattling.
Half-time entertainment. Last night’s European action wasn’t too shabby either. Relive it with Max, Barry et al.
HALF TIME: Athletic Club 0-3 Manchester United
United soaked up half-an-hour’s worth of pressure … then bang, bang, bang. What a number they’ve done on Bilbao! A couple of their players tell the referee how they see it. The home fans holler in despair. United already have one foot in the final!
45 min +4: Ugarte cushions a pass into the Bilbao box for Hojlund, who can’t get a shot away but forces a corner. And from the set piece, Mazraoui sends a fierce, curling, rising drive towards the top-left corner … and off the face of the crossbar! So nearly four!
45 min +3: There’s still a lot of noise being made by the San Mamés faithful, who are still four-square behind their team.
45 min +1: The first of four additional minutes comes and goes.
GOAL! Athletic Club 0-3 Manchester United (Fernandes 45)
United are flying! Ugarte splits the home defence with a backheel down the middle. Fernandes is free! He enters the box, draws Agirrezabala, and lifts the ball into the right-hand portion of the net! Wow. United cavort. Bilbao have imploded.
44 min: Fernandes sends a diagonal chip towards Dorgu, who twists and turns like Harry Maguire down the left and sends a low shot towards the near post. Agirrezabala just about deals with it, but before Gorosabel can hack clear in a panic, the flag goes up for offside.
43 min: Nothing comes of the corner. “Maguire transformed into Garrincha—it could only happen in the land of Picasso and Dalí,” observes our new culture correspondent Justin Kavanagh. “Maybe the bus stopped off at the Guggenheim for inspiration this evening!”
42 min: Dorgu wins a corner down the left. Before it can be taken, Bilbao make a double change. De Marcos and Berenguer are sacrificed for Gorosabel and Paredes.
40 min: The corner’s worked back to Iñaki Williams, who aims for the top-right corner but gets nowhere near the goal. The home fans holler in impotent fury.
39 min: Bilbao need something. United by contrast need to keep it simple. But Lindelof, not for the first time this evening, gifts possession to Nico Williams, who bears down on the United box and takes a shot that’s deflected wide right. Corner.
GOAL! Athletic Club 0-2 Manchester United (Fernandes 37 pen)
Fernandes waits for Agirrezabala to commit, then rolls calmly into the bottom right. United in total control now, and the Bilbao fans are in despair!
36 min: … but they do complain, and Yuri goes into the book for saying his piece too. The ball might have hit Garnacho’s hand in the build-up, not his hip, but it’s not clear so he’s been given the benefit of the on-field decision. Fernandes waits to take the spot kick.
PENALTY for Manchester United! And a RED CARD for Vivian!
35 min: The referee draws a TV screen in the air, points to the spot … then draws the red card from his pocket and shows it to Vivian. Athletic livid, but they can’t have too many complaints.
34 min: The referee is told to go over to the monitor. Vivian had his left arm on Hojlund’s shoulder. Hojlund would have connected, six yards out, if he hadn’t been dragged back and felled. This will surely be given as a penalty. And a red card?
32 min: Having completed that smash and grab, United come at Athletic again. Garnacho slips just to the right of the D but manages to trap the ball with his hip, then feeds Mazraoui, who crosses low from the right. Hojlund, lunging for the ball with leg extended, is wrestled to the ground by Vivian, and play goes on. But VAR will surely have a look at this. And indeed that’s the case when play stops. Bilbao could be in bother here, because Vivian had his arm on Hojlund’s shoulder. How much did he tug him back?
GOAL! Athletic Club 0-1 Manchester United (Casemiro 30)
Maguire channels his inner Garrincha (really) by twisting Jaureguizar’s blood down the right flank. He checks back up the flank, then spins towards the byline again, and crosses. Ugarte flicks on at the near post, and Casemiro can’t miss with his header at the far stick!
29 min: De Marcos shoves an in-flight Dorgu into touch down the left and is fortunate not to go into the book. It is a free kick, though, and everyone lines up on the edge of the box. Fernandes fails to beat the first man and Bilbao half clear. But United come back, and …
28 min: A bit of space for Berenguer down the right. He looks for Sannadi at the far stick. Sannadi was free, but there’s too much on the cross. A few more sounds of concern from the Bilbao faithful.
26 min: A Bilbao attack breaks down and for the first time there are a few groans from the home support, who haven’t been able to celebrate the early breakthrough they desired. Music to United’s ears. Speaking of fine art, here’s Justin Kavanagh: “I hope United fans get to see Bilbao’s fabulous Guggenheim Museum on their travels. Its oddly ambiguous shape might provide some comfort for those still looking for the artistry within most of the teams that Ruben Amorim has put out this season.”
24 min: Garnacho probes down the right and goes over Yuri’s clumsily hung-out leg. A free kick just to the side of the Bilbao box. Fernandes to deliver … but it’s too high for Casemiro and Sannadi is able to head clear. United will be delighted with their showing in attack so far.
22 min: Sannadi barrels in from the right. Things nearly open up in front of him but United close ranks just in time on the edge of the box.
21 min: United are struggling to play out from the back. But when they do beat the press, they look dangerous piling forward. Casemiro juggles his way out of trouble and sends Hojlund running down the middle. He’s skittled, and from the resulting free kick, sent forward by Fernandes, Maguire wins a header on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. It’s aimless, though. Goal kick.
19 min: Lindelof is the hero here, though! Nico Williams sends his brother Inaki scampering into acres down the right. Inaki pulls back for Berenguer, who aims a shot towards the bottom left. Lindelof kicks off the line and away. A lot of space behind the United defence there.
17 min: … and with this in mind, United pass the ball around the back awhile. They’ve enjoyed 65 percent of possession so far. All good … but then Lindelof allows his pocket to be picked by Iñaki Williams, and the defender’s fortunate that Williams can’t find Sannadi with a pass infield. Sannadi would have been through on goal otherwise.
15 min: Maguire is clipped by Berenguer near his own box. He takes his sweet time over the restart, a professional move to extract a little bit of energy from the home support.
13 min: Both teams are in a physical mood, both teams are playing at 101 mph. The referee also seems of a mind to let things go. There could be fireworks.
11 min: A huge chance for Bilbao. Berenguer swings in from the left. Iñaki Williams gets in ahead of the entire United back line and flashes a header over the bar from six yards. He should have hit the target at the very least. He probably should have scored.
9 min: Fernandes rolls a pass down the right for the lively Garnacho, who jinks into the box only to run slap-bang into Álvarez. There goes that move. But this is a promising start from United.
8 min: One corner leads to another, then Yuri meets a cross from the left and heads wide right. A bright start in attack by both sides.
7 min: Ugarte is stripped in midfield and Berenguer strides forward. He aims a low drive towards the bottom left. Onana does well to turn it around the post at full stretch.
6 min: Yep, it was clear enough. Garnacho went far too early. Shame for United, who cut Bilbao open with ease. That’s no mean feat, given nobody in the top-five leagues in Europe have let in fewer goals at home than Bilbao. (Their 10 beats Napoli and Forest’s 11, and Liverpool and Torino’s 13.)
5 min: United have the ball in the Bilbao net! Ugarte slips a pass down the inside-right channel to release Garnacho, who enters the box and forces a shot through Agirrezabala and into the goal. But the flag pops up for offside. VAR will double-check, though.
3 min: … but nothing comes of it, Ruiz De Galarreta attempting a shot from distance that bounces apologetically through to Onana.
2 min: Bilbao on the front foot quickly. Nico Williams makes good down the left and looks for his brother Inaki at the far stick. Dorgu is forced to turn it behind for the first corner of the game.
Toss! Slap! Swap! Parp! And then a shrill blast of the referee’s whistle. United get the ball rolling. San Mamés roars. Roar!
The teams are out! Bilbao in their Southampton c.1909 red and white stripes, United in Wembley ‘68 dark blue. A home banner reveals the slogan: UNIQUE IN THE WORLD. We’ll be off once coins have been tossed, palms slapped, pennants swapped, and corporate anthems parped. San Mamés jumping!
Ruben Amorim speaks to TNT Sports. “We are managing the minutes of Luke [Shaw] … also Vic [Lindelof] is playing well … we need to be strong in defence … he is good on the ball … it is everything together … [De Ligt and Diallo] can play but we need to be careful with them … they press really high so we can use our pace behind … we have players to do that, especially Garnacho … we have also set pieces because Bruno can deliver good balls in the box, so we will try everything … we have shown we can win these kind of games … we have to be ready … better than against Bournemouth … in the beginning we were not ready for pressure … so we have to be better in the first minutes.”
Pre-match entertainment. Sid Lowe speaks to Iñaki Williams about a Basque institution that is not only a club, but also a way of life.
Athletic Club finished second in the mega-group, one place behind Lazio, one place ahead of Manchester United. Given Spurs are contesting the other semi-final tonight, and Lazio were knocked out on penalties in the quarters, this table proved to be quite the harbinger on the whole. (For the record, Lazio’s quarter-final conquerors, and Tottenham’s opponents this evening, Bodø/Glimt, finished ninth in the table.)
Anyway, Bilbao subsequently did for Roma and Rangers, while United have seen off Bilbao’s arch-rivals Real Sociedad and Lyon. And here we are.
Manchester United make two changes to their starting XI after the 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Sunday. Victor Lindelöf and Manuel Ugarte take the places of Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo, who both drop to the bench. Alongside them in the dugout: returning heroes Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt.
Athletic’s star man Nico Williams had been an injury doubt, but he came on as a sub during his team’s 1-0 La Liga win over Las Palmas last Wednesday, and is back in the starting XI tonight. As for the rest of the team, it’s the return of the Las Palmas nine, with the only other player stepping up being goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala. Unai Simón drops to the bench, while Oihan Sancet misses out altogether.
The teams
Athletic Club: Agirrezabala, de Marcos, Vivian, Álvarez, Yuri, Jauregizar, Ruiz De Galarreta, Iñaki Williams, Berenguer, Nico Williams, Sannadi.
Subs: Boiro, Canales, Gomez, Prados, Nunez, Lekue, Djalo, Guruzeta, Vesga, Paredes, Gorosabel, Simon.
Manchester United: Onana, Yoro, Maguire, Lindelöf, Mazraoui, Casemiro, Ugarte, Dorgu, Garnacho, Fernandes, Højlund.
Subs: Bayindir, Heaton, de Ligt, Mount, Eriksen, Diallo, Shaw, Mainoo, Amass, Fredricson, Kamason, Mantato.
Referee: Espen Eskås (Norway).
VAR: Per Svärd (Sweden).
Preamble
These two grand old clubs have very different records in Europe. Manchester United have won six trophies on the continent; Athletic Club of Bilbao are still searching for their first. And yet on the head-to-head, things are much more of a piece. The clubs have met competitively only twice before: in the 1956-57 European Cup quarter-finals, when United overturned a 5-3 first-leg defeat with a 3-0 win at Maine Road, Dennis Viollet, Tommy Taylor and Johnny Berry with the goals under the floodlights that necessitated their playing across the city; and in the 2011-12 Europa League round of 16, Athletic winning home and away to chalk up a 5-3 aggregate victory, Fernando Llorente one of the scorers doing the damage at Old Trafford.
Let’s tot it up, then. One tie apiece. Three Athletic wins to one for United. Ten Athletic goals to nine by United. Could it be much closer? Not really, no. And another goalfest could well be on the cards, because Athletic have won six our of six at Estadio de San Mamés during their run to this Europa League semi-final, scoring 14 times along the way, while United’s carry-on in the previous round against Lyon told you all you need to know about them. This could be great fun, then. Kick-off is at 9pm Basque Country time, 8pm BST. It’s on!
