City Crime
Europa League Will Not Save Our Season – Man Utd
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has said that Europa League success will not “save our season”, but “could change a lot of things in our club”.
After a disappointing domestic campaign, the Old Trafford outfit visited Athletic Club in the first leg of their semi-final last night.
United are 14th in the Premier League, having managed just 39 points from 34 games, but they could still qualify for the Champions League if they win the Europa League.
“Everybody knows that it’s really important for our season,” said Amorim. “We know that nothing is going to save our season, but this can be huge.
“Winning a trophy and also to get in the Champions League, to have European games next year, could change a lot of things in our club, even in the summer.”
United produced a remarkable comeback to reach the semis when they scored two goals in the final minute of extra-time to beat Lyon 5-4 in the second leg of their last-eight tie to win 7-6 on aggregate.
Their form in Europe is in stark contrast to their Premier League struggles and Amorim, who replaced Erik ten Hag in November last year, knows “a lot of things we need to change” even if they lift the trophy.
“Europa League will not change anything in our problems, it’s going to help us to have Champions League next year, more money to spend, but the problems are still there,” added the United boss.
“We have to change the minds of our fans with consistency, good decisions, good recruitment, a good academy. This is what we need to change to take this club back to the top.
“This is more of a shortcut to go to European games. Nothing more.”
United forward Amad Diallo and centre-back Matthijs de Ligt were not ready to start against Athletic Club after returning from injury, while the Spanish side was without top scorer Oihan Sancet.