Manchester United are just one match away from ensuring that this season has not been a total write off.
The Premier League has been a tough watch for United fans with most matches ranging from poor to downright embarrassing. While there has been brief glimmers of hope in the bread and butter, the Europa League has been the home of United's better performances.
And so it proved to be the case on Thursday night. For 70 minutes it was a nervy affair but Ruben Amorim's second half substitutes turned the game in United's favour and arguably the last 20 minutes were some of the best football that the club has played under their head coach to date.
Now United head into the final to face a familiar opponent who they will have bad memories of coming up against. This season, the Reds have lost three times to Tottenham Hotspur and there could be little complaints about any of the scorelines.
Amorim joked that United must now be due a victory considering the results so far this season but if they are to do that, they must make full use of the advantage of having already played in the San Mames Stadium. Of course, the host arena for the final is also the home of Athletic Bilbao and the Reds showed they know exactly how to get a result at the Basque stadium.
In the first leg of their Europa League semi-final last week, United showed they were not overwhelmed by the intimidating atmosphere inside the San Mames Stadium. From 30 minutes onwards, United dominated and while they were helped by their man advantage, they never looked in danger of letting their comfortable lead slip.
This time, United shall benefit from a less hostile crowd with at least 14,500 supporters in the stadium cheering on Amorim's men. But it cannot be underestimated how important it is for professional footballers to be familiar with their surroundings before a game of this magnitude.
Tottenham will head into the unknown in a couple of weeks' time while United should feel confident that they can replicate their game plan that served them so well against Athletic Club previously.
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