Rúben Amorim has shown that he is learning from Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s mistakes with a surprise answer about the Europa League final heading into extra time.
Manchester United are counting down to the Europa League final, where they’ll meet Tottenham in Bilbao on Wednesday evening.
Rúben Amorim’s team have stumbled in the Premier League, failing to win any of their last eight games, but they’ve looked like a completely different side in Europe.
United finished third in the league phase and eased past Real Sociedad in the round of 16, winning 5-2 on aggregate with a second-leg hat-trick from Bruno Fernandes.
The quarter-final tie against Lyon was unforgettable. After a 2-2 draw in France, United found themselves 2-0 up, then 4-2 down at Old Trafford—before Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, and Harry Maguire struck in quick succession to produce a stunning comeback.
In the semi-finals, they swept aside Athletic Club with a 3-0 away win followed by a 4-1 victory at home. Now, only Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs stand in the way of European silverware.
Solskjær’s big mistake in the 2021 Europa League final
United were last in the Europa League final during the 2020/21 campaign, where then-manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s men fell to a penalty-shootout defeat against Villarreal after a 1-1 draw across 120 minutes.
Many things went against United that day, with David de Gea missing his penalty, Maguire having been unavailable to start the game through injury despite being one of the club’s most important players at the time, and Villarreal getting the luck of the draw on many refereeing decisions.
However, the most significant gripe United fans left the game with was Solskjær’s refusal to substitute on any fresh legs to try and win the tie in 90 minutes, with his first sub then coming at 100 minutes as attacker Mason Greenwood came off for defensive midfielder Fred.
United went on to make a further three swaps, with Axel Tuanzebe and Daniel James replacing Paul Pogba in the 116th minute, and Alex Telles and Juan Mata joining the field in the places of Scott McTominay and Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the final moments before the shootout.
Amorim is learning from Solskjær’s mistake
There is little doubt that Solskjær’s choice not to make any impactful substitutions before extra time was a core reason why United ended up with commiseration levels, and Amorim is determined not to make the same mistake.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday evening, Amorim was asked how much extra time and penalties he considers when selecting his starting XI. He replied that he only considers the first 90 minutes, and his game plan follows accordingly.
“I just think [about playing] the best starting XI to start the game, then it’s really important to have options on the bench to change the game.
“Sometimes it’s really, really important to win a final. I’m not thinking about going to extra time. Of course, we have that possibility, but we never think about that. Maybe in the final minutes, you have two substitutions.
“One, you wait for the extra time. You have to think about the possibility, but in the beginning of the game, I just want to win the game really fast. But we know, and we proved against Lyon, if we have to score three goals in six minutes, we are able to do it, especially with our fans on the stadium.”
Amorim clearly states here that he hopes to wrap up the fixture and win it within 90 minutes and will, therefore, not make the same mistake as Solskjær when he looks to secure the Europa League final trophy. It’s a bold plan, but one he is certainly capable of pulling off.
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