Five things we learnt as Man United beat Athletic Club 3-0 | OneFootball

Manchester United travelled to Bilbao to take on Athletic Club in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final.

Andre Onana started in goal, with Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof as the three centre backs. In the absence of Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui began at right wing back and Patrick Dorgu on the left side.

Ruben Amorim went for a defensive midfield with Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte forming the 6/8 duo.

Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes and Rasmus Hojlund were tasked with scoring the goals as the attacking trio.

Here are five things we learnt from this massive match.

United’s old heads stand up when needed

Two Red Devils who have faced immense criticism during their time at Old Trafford combined wonderfully for United’s opener.

Harry Maguire was a joke figure at the club for a long time but he was the last-gasp hero against Olympique Lyonnais in the quarter finals. The centre back would also have his moment tonight. He produced a wonderful bit of wing play on the right and stood up a fantastic cross that was first met by Ugarte and then headed home by Casemiro.

The Brazil international also seemed to have no future at the club during the summer or even at the beginning of Ruben Amorim’s stint as head coach. Nonetheless, he has fought his way back into the team and once again come up trumps for United in the biggest of moments by breaking the deadlock.

Bruno Fernandes stamps his authority on Europa League

The Peoples Person highlighted before the match that Fernandes held the record for most goal involvements in the history of the competition with 29. He had added two more by the end of the first half at the San Mames.

As usual, he calmly converted his penalty to add United’s second and showed great finishing skill to put away his second of the game and his side’s third just before half-time.

This was enough to take him above Radamel Falcao, Alexandre Lacazette and Kevin Gameiro as the player with most goal involvements at the semi-final stage of the Europa League.

United finally getting some luck

The Red Devils have considered themselves unlucky in the league and have been on the end of numerous questionable decisions throughout the season. They have also had continued bad luck as numerous key players have missed significant portions of the season.

Their fortunes have been quite different in the Europa League, as this was the third consecutive knockout round in which their opponent received a red card at a crucial time.

Real Sociedad lost a man when the tie was evenly poised at 2-2 on aggregate in the second leg. United would go on to win the match 4-1 and tie 5-2. Lyon also received a red card just before extra-time began at Old Trafford in the second game of the quarter final.

United completed a hattrick of red cards against when Dani Vivian received a red card after 35 minutes with the away side 1-0 up.

Ruben Amorim will hope that United’s luck can continue in the second leg and final if they are to arrive there.

Timely returns from injury

Matthijs de Ligt came onto the field for the final 30 minutes of play to shore up the United defence.

The Dutchman has been out injured for the last few weeks but his return to action will be a huge boost for the United defence. De Ligt has been one of the club’s outstanding performers this season.

Amad also made his return after months injured for the final 10 minutes of the match. The Ivorian was one of the few bright sparks of the early season and United fans will hope he can stay fit for the final month of the campaign.

Ugarte adding goal involvements to his game

The Uruguayan was brought to the club as a destroyer and was not famed for his ability on the ball. He did struggle in possession in the opening exchanges and was dangerously dispossessed a couple of times.

Nonetheless, he grabbed two assists in the first half, as he once again made a difference in the attacking third. The first assist was a flicked header, but the second was a wonderful touch, demonstrating a calm presence in such an advanced position.

Ugarte scored the opening goal in the last Europa League match and United fans will be delighted if the Uruguayan can keep adding more strings to his bow during his career in Manchester.

Featured image Clive Brunskill via Getty Images

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