Ruben Amorim bet the house on the Europa League after the Disastrous Premier League campaign of Manchester United, knowing this season and the next hinge on the victory of the competition. The Portuguese manager took over from the Erik Ten Hag dismissed in November, with United a miserable 13th of the table. Now they are 14th. The fact that the former Lisbon sporting boss is not subject to more intense pressure is largely due to a general appreciation of the magnitude of the task he is confronted with Old Trafford. United, so dominant at the national level under the former manager Alex Ferguson, will end the season with his lowest points of points in the era of the Premier League. But the Amorim team can always save their campaign with victory in the Europa League, which brings a place in the Champions League for next season.
A return to the competition of European clubs could transform the future of United in the short term, stimulating the chests and making Old Trafford a more attractive destination for the new essential recruits.
But United is faced with a difficult task in the semi-finals against Athletic Bilbao, fourth in the Liga, which has additional incentive, namely that the final will take place in their stadium.
“San Mames Rugira. We want to keep this dream alive,” tweeted Bilbao this week before Thursday’s first leg in the Basque Country.
The winners of the tie will face either Tottenham or the Norwegian champions Bodo / Glimt in the final.
United produced a return for the ages to see Lyon in the quarter -finals, marking three times in seven minutes in front of an incredulous crowd at Old Trafford.
But they have since returned as a type, losing against the wolves and drawing in Bournemouth in the Premier League while Liverpool equaled its record of 20 English highlight titles.
Amorim, 40, admits that winning the Europa League would be a huge blow in the arm for its side in difficulty.
“In this context, winning something like that is massive for us for our confidence-then, in the future, in the next season,” he said.
“To play in the Champions League (makes the situation) completely different. The environment, how we are going to face the summer, the summer budget – everything is linked to this competition.”
Oddly, despite their appalling form of Premier League, United is the only undefeated team in the Champions League and the Europa League this season.
The Red Devils had total control of the second stage of their quarter -final against Lyon in Old Trafford before the familiar fragiles returned to haunt them.
They managed a miracle to win the second floor 5-4 to seal the 7-6 link on an aggregate, but Amorim will know that lightning is unlikely to strike twice and that his team must win.
One plus for United is that Rasmus Hojlund only scored his second premier League goal since early December in a 1-1 draw in Bournemouth on Sunday.
Captain Bruno Fernandes, the top scorer in United with 17 goals all the competitions this season, said that he hoped that the objective would give confidence to the Denmark striker.
“Everyone who plays here who has the qualities to enter the box to score goals must do so,” he told Mutv.
“Everyone is very happy to see an attacker mark and I hope it will give him a little push for what is coming.”
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