Paul Scholes has responded to a bold claim made by Rúben Amorim following Manchester United’s breathtaking 3-0 win over Athletic Club in the Europa League.
Manchester United delivered a sensational performance in Bilbao, beating Athletic Club 3-0 in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final to take a huge step towards the final. Rúben Amorim’s side were clinical, composed, and utterly dominant on a memorable night in Spain.
Alejandro Garnacho thought he’d opened the scoring early on, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside. But United didn’t take long to assert themselves—Casemiro struck first after a powerful run and cross from Harry Maguire.
Moments later, Rasmus Højlund was fouled in the box by Dani Vivian, who was shown a red card, and Bruno Fernandes made no mistake from the spot. The captain then struck again just before the break to cap off a brilliant first half.
Athletic Club tried to respond in the second half, but United held firm, managing the game with maturity and precision to secure a commanding advantage ahead of the second leg at Old Trafford.
Amorim adamant that the tie is not over
Speaking to TNT Sports after the fixture, Amorim was quick to boldly suggest that, despite the 3-0 lead, the tie is far from over as Athletic Club could very much replicate United’s display when they line up against Old Trafford next week.
“The result is really good, but we have to understand the result at the same time,” Amorim explained.
“We struggled a lot at the beginning, and the sending off changed the game. Any game can change with one situation. We had an opportunity to score one more. This is not done, and they can do the same at Old Trafford.”
“They’re really strong and intense. We need to be prepared… Of course, we have an advantage. We have our fans, but again, this could change. Anything can happen in one game.”
Scholes responds to bold Amorim claim
In reaction to Amorim’s words, former United player and club legend Paul Scholes gave a much more confident view when asked if United have put themselves in good stead to head to the competition’s final later this month.
“Look, yeah, they should be,” Scholes replied. “And you’d be very confident of that, hadn’t you? I think he spoke well there.
“He said he was really happy with the result, but he understands the result as well. They had a couple of great chances at 0-0. The sending off, obviously, was a big factor in the game.”
He continued: “They struggled the first 20 minutes, it was difficult. But you just think, at 3-0, it should be over. But, it’s United these days, we don’t really know what we’re going to get.
“I mean, they’ve been beaten at home 3-0 by a couple of teams this year, I think. So, look, you always go into it saying it’s not over, but really, watching, it should be over, and I think it is.”
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