Ruben Amorim says UEFA Europa League win ‘really important’ for Manchester United ‘pride’ – ‘The players really want this
Manchester United face Athletic Club in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League semi-final on Thursday night, live on TNT Sports and discovery+. Manager Ruben Amorim has acknowledged the disappointment of his side’s Premier League campaign, but claimed his players “really want” to lift the Europa League trophy, with “pride” and a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League on the line.
Ruben Amorim said Manchester United’s players “really want” to win the UEFA Europa League ahead of their semi-final against Athletic Club.
After a dismal season in the Premier League, with The Red Devils languishing in 14th, Amorim admitted a European title would restore some “pride”, as well as the significant prize of qualification for the UEFA Champions League.
“I think it is a little bit a pride thing,” he told TNT Sports. “We should be judged by the Premier League, not European football.
“You feel that the players really want this, it’s really important for us, not just for the title but also to secure Champions League for next year. That is really important for our club.”
United were indebted to makeshift striker Harry Maguire in the quarter-finals. The centre-back was pushed forward late in extra-time of a hugely dramatic second leg against Lyon at Old Trafford and scored a last-minute winner to seal a
7-6 aggregate win.
And Amorim admitted the towering defender is a useful option in attack when necessary.
“It’s a solution,” he said. “For example, in Sporting I used a lot of times one player, Sebastian Coates, quite the same characteristics of Harry Maguire: really strong in the air, really good in set pieces.
“So we try to use the best characteristics in this kind of situation. You are not thinking in that moment that Maguire is a central defender. He’s a guy that can score a lot of goals inside the box, can move inside the box, so that is the idea.”
United will hope Maguire is not needed against Athletic, who sit fourth in La Liga and are playing for the chance to reach a final which will be hosted in their home stadium in Bilbao, San Mames.
Asked whether that could add an extra incentive for United’s opponents, Amorim said: “Of course, but also an extra element of pressure.
“We just need to be focused on the game, and we want this really bad. I know that they want to play at home [in the final] but we are also fighting for a special thing, so it’s more than a game for us and we want to win it.
“We know that the first 20, 30 minutes are going to be really fast and really intense, but we have experienced players and sometimes these kinds of environments are better for them.
“I felt during the season sometimes with our supporters at Old Trafford, it’s harder for us to cope than when everyone is against us. I hope that tomorrow is the same thing.”
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