- Man United booked their Europa League final ticket by beating Athletic Bilbao
- Ruben Amorim explained why he is still ‘worried’ and ‘stressed’ despite the win
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Are Arsenal even close to achieving big things?
Ruben Amorim warned his Manchester United players they have won nothing yet after they booked their place in the Europa League final.
Over in Norway, Tottenham Hotspur ensured their own spot in the Bilbao showpiece on May 21 with a 2-0 win over Bodo/Glimt, while United came from behind to win 4-1.
Bilbao will be the stage where the two Premier League sides will go head to head to salvage their nightmare seasons in one of the highest stakes games in recent years for both clubs.
Tottenham are one of only five teams worse in the Premier League this season than Manchester United, sitting 16th, and both teams must win to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Amorim headed straight down the tunnel as his players celebrated after a 4-1 win over Athletic Club last night and he warned them that there is still a lot of work to do before he joins any celebrations.
‘I’m just worried about the next game, trying to not get any injuries for the final. If we don’t win the final, it means nothing for us,’ Amorim said.
Ruben Amorim has warned his Manchester United stars that reaching the Europa League final will mean ‘nothing’ if they do not win it
United thrashed Athletic Bilbao 4-1 on Thursday – and 7-1 on aggregate – to make the final
Meanwhile, Tottenham progressed past Bodo/Glimt to set up an all-English final in Bilbao
‘We have to have a full squad [against Tottenham], stay in the game and have a bit of luck and we have to be clinical.
‘It’s quite similar for me and Ange [Postecoglou]. It is a tough moment [for us both] and one of us is going to win. It’s going to be a big final and we will try to win.’
United came into last night’s second leg with a 3-0 lead from the first leg but for 70 minutes they looked set to make this as difficult as possible as they fell behind in the first half.
But Amorim made decisive changes off the bench with Amad Diallo and Mason Mount, who scored a brace for his first goals at Old Trafford, to ease the pressure tumbling down from the stands.
‘It’s hard to describe what it’s like to be manager of this club and you want to give them [the fans] something because we were so disappointing in the Premier League,’ he added.
‘We want to give something to the fans.
‘I am stressed already because of the final. If you don’t win it, it is nothing. We are happy to be there. Let’s see.’
Amorim added: ‘I can see I should be a better manager in this moment, the team should be better in this moment but we are trying and I think we did quite well in Europe.
Amorim explained that he is ‘worried’ about players getting injured before the final on May 21
He also admitted he should ‘be a better manager’ afetr watching his side cruise to the final
‘We struggle a lot in Premier league so let’s see.’
For defeated boss Ernesto Valverde, there was pride in how his team fought and he was eager to take the learnings from a bruising night in Manchester.
‘You learn from everything,’ he said.
‘For many players, it was their first season in Europe after being out of this competition for a while. You learn from these things too.
‘I’m feeling good about the end of the match, but we’ve had a great competition from the start. I’m a little annoyed that for 10 minutes we had a bittersweet feeling.
‘I’m left with the feeling that we could have done much more in this tie.’
