Athletic Club 0-3 Manchester United: Ruben Amorim’s side end first leg with huge lead
Manchester United breezed past Athletic Club in a first half in Bilbao that may just have decided the tie. Within five minutes of the match United already had the ball in the net, but Alejandro Garnacho had gone too early and was flagged offside.
Athletic excellently imposed themselves on the game afterwards, with an intensity that threatened to suffocate United. Inaki Williams and Alex Berenguer both went close and perhaps should have done better.
But Garnacho’s ruled-out goal soon proved to be quite the harbinger. On the half-hour mark, United’s Harry Maguire channelled his inner Lamine Yamal on the right flank and whipped in a cross, which Manuel Ugarte flicked on towards the far post and Casemiro finished.
Only two minutes after, Athletic’s Dani Vivian wrestled down Rasmus Hojlund as the striker tried to shoot in the box. A red card, a Bruno Fernandes penalty, two goals down, and it was looking quite bleak for Athletic.
But more was to come. Just near half-time, United somehow came out on top in a close melee in front of the penalty arc. Fernandes was put through on goal by a clever flick from Ugarte, and the United captain tripled Athletic’s pain.
The second half was – not unexpectedly – lower key. United tried to manage the game against opponents with a man down and therefore unwilling to commit too much into attack.
The home side called for a penalty just before the hour mark when Maguire appeared to have dragged down Maroan Sannadi and denied him a clear goalscoring opportunity. Athletic players and bench thought it was a penalty. A VAR review didn’t.
United pressed forward to find a fourth but time trickled down and it never came.
