UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE : ATHLETIC CLUB VS MANCHESTER UNITED – 01/05/2025 (PHOTO – BRUNO FERNANDES CELEBRATES)

MANCHESTER UNITED HAD A BRILLIANT DAY AT THE OFFICE YESTERDAY IN THEIR MATCH AGAINST ATHLETIC CLUB!  MAN U MADE 631 PASSES, WITH AN 89% PASS ACCURACY, (HAD 73% POSSESSION), AND 14 SHOTS WITH 7 ON TARGET, INCLUDING A STUNNER FROM CASEMIRO AT 30 MINS., AND A BRILLIANT BRACE FROM BRUNO FERNANDES AT 37 MINS. FROM A PENALTY, AFTER SOME ARGEY-BARGEY BETWEEN DANIEL VIVIAN AND RASMUS HOJLUND, (WHO ENDED UP ON THE FLOOR), AT WHICH POINT THE REF PROMPTLY GAVE VIVIAN HIS MARCHING ORDERS WITH A STRAIGHT RED CARD.  BRUNO FERNANDES TOOK THE PENALTY, AND IT WAS A BEAUTY.  FOLLOWED SHORTLY AFTERWARDS BY ANOTHER STUNNER JUST BEFORE HALF-TIME AT 45 MINS!  ATHLETIC CLUB MADE 228 PASSES, WITH A 70% PASS ACCURACY, AND HAD 9 SHOTS WITH 3 ON TARGET, BUT WITH NO FURTHER GOALS DURING THE MATCH, IT ENDED IN A 3 – 0 WIN TO MANCHESTER UNITED! THE SECOND LEG WILL TAKE PLACE AT OLD TRAFFORD, MANCHESTER ON 8TH MAY. THE WINNING TEAM WILL FACE THE WINNER OF THE SECOND LEG SEMI-FINAL BETWEEN TOTTENHAM VS BODO GLIMT IN THE FINAL ON WEDNESDAY 21 MAY AT SAN MAMES STADIUM IN BILBAO, SPAIN.

IN ADDITION TO ALL THE GOALS, ATTENTION MUST BE PAID TO HARRY MAGUIRES’ SUPERB “BACKWARDS AND A FORWARDS, FORWARDS AND A BACKWARDSING” WITH THE BALL – AND FOR THAT, HE, AND THE WHOLE TEAM DESERVE THE SHAMEN AWARD FOR BEING “EBENEEZER GOODE”

BY AMANDA WATERS