JAKARTA - Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim admits he is confused and difficult to explain how his team won 3-0 over Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League match. MU played brilliantly and set a record of never losing, but they were battered in the English Premier League.
MU was not seeded when he visited Bilbao's headquarters in the first semifinal at the San Mames Stadium, Friday, May 2, 2025 in the morning WIB. No wonder the Red Devils are predicted to be difficult to win because their performance is very unstable.
Despite appearing impressive and dramatically defeating Lyon 5-4 through extra time in the second quarter of the Europa League final, United again collapsed in domestic competitions.
The match against Lyon at Old Trafford is full of drama. MU won 2-0 first, but Lyon was able to catch up and turned 4-2 ahead.
When the match ended soon, MU had a chance to reduce the lag over Bruno Fernandes' penalty. And, when the game was only two minutes away, Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire managed to break into Lyon's goal which changed the score to 5-4. MU qualified for the semifinals with a 7-6 aggregate.
After playing crazy when they got rid of Lyon, Amoram's troops who returned to play at home were humiliated by Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0.
It didn't stop there, MU almost lost when they played an away match against Bournemouth. Left 1-0, MU finally equalized the score to 1-1 through Rasmus Hojlund's goal in the last minute or 90+6!
MU likes having two different faces. When they were not seeded after playing badly in the Premier League, they went berserk and finished Bilbao, who is currently ranked fourth in the Spanish La Liga standings.
"It's hard to explain. I also know this is difficult to understand. But that's what happened," said Amorim in response to MU's victory in the Europa League after reaping disappointing results in the Premier League.
"What is clear is that our performance has actually improved over the last few matches. I don't see the result of the match. Moreover, we can actually win when we play not well. On the other hand, when we play well, we lose. Sometimes you really need luck," said Amorim.
According to the injury of the player who hit MU, it made it difficult for him to get the best squad. However, the team finally had difficulties due to the loss of the best player.
"We actually have a chance to win this competition. On the other hand, we always lose from one match to the next game. We still try to do our best even though we are faced with many injured players. Sometimes this makes it difficult for players," he said again.
In the match against Bilbao, MU opened the victory through Casemiro's goal. While winning 1-0, MU is increasingly benefiting because Bilbao lost defender Dani Vivian who got a red card.
Furthermore, captain Bruno Fernandes scored a brace which made MU close the first half with a 3-0 advantage. The score lasted until the game was over.
The result made MU only need a draw when playing the second semifinal match at home at Old Trafford, Friday, May 9, 2025 in the morning WIB. Even losing 1-0 or 2-0 can still bring MU to the Europa League final.
However, Amorim stated that players should not be careless because MU has not yet qualified for the final. According to him, the match was still not easy because Bilbao was not an easy opponent.
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"I'm sure they [players] stay focused on the second game. They won't be careless for the first 20 minutes and then when the game enters the next minute. This will be a really tough game. Remember the goal in the away game is not taken into account," he said.
It's just that MU is now the seed. Moreover, the data shows that of the 133 Europa League and UEFA Cup matches that the team won with a score of more than three goals, the team also won in the second match.
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