Rasmus Hojlund was on the scoresheet as Manchester United secured their place in the Europa League final with a 4-1 win over Athletic Club at Old Trafford.
Manchester United cruised into the Europa League final with a commanding 4-1 win over Athletic Club at Old Trafford, sealing a 7-1 aggregate victory over the two legs.
Despite a 3-0 first-leg lead, United started sluggishly at Old Trafford and fell behind to a stunning strike from Mikel Jauregizar.
Ruben Amorim responded after half-time by introducing Amad, Luke Shaw, and Mason Mount—and the changes paid off. Mount quickly curled in a superb equalizer, Casemiro headed in from a Bruno Fernandes free kick, and Rasmus Hojlund added a third.
Mount then capped the night with a spectacular long-range goal to book United a final clash with Tottenham Hotspur in Bilbao.
Hojlund praises extremely talented United duo
Despite a mixed performance, Hojlund grabbed an important goal for himself towards the end of the game. He now has six in the European competition this season.
Asked about the impact of Amad and Mount, the Danish striker was full of compliments for his teammates, who both recently returned from injury, after the game.
“Yeah, lovely. It feels nice to score a scrappy goal. I was very happy that Amad played the ball, what a player, great player to have back in the team,” Hojlund told beIN Sports.
“Those two players are extremely talented and we’re very happy to have them both back.”
Hojlund is somewhat fortunate that his starting spot in the final is almost guaranteed, but Amad and Mount will be pushing to prove they should also be playing in Bilbao.
United simply just needed more quality
Football is sometimes made out to be way more complicated than it actually is.
United were struggling to finish their chances in the first half but it was so obvious that all they needed was a little bit more quality in those areas.
That is what Mount and Amad provided. The Ivorian, in particular, made it look easy to attack against the Spanish side and his presence immediately turned things in United’s favour.
Now, the Reds look ahead to the final and they will need players to show their quality against Spurs.
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