Harry Maguire has claimed that Manchester United have not put their semi-final tie with Athletic Bilbao to bed despite winning 3-0 at San Mames in the Europa League
Harry Maguire maintained “the tie is not done” despite Manchester United winning 3-0 at Athletic Bilbao. The Red Devils had a night to remember in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final, which puts them in pole position to make the final.
The Premier League side headed to San Mames, the venue of the final later this month, as firm underdogs but produced a sensational display. Maguire was crucial in United’s opener, producing a stunning cross before Casemiro headed home the first goal of the game.
United were then handed a penalty, converted by Bruno Fernandes, which also saw Bilbao have a man sent-off. Ruben Amorim’s side added a third before half-time as they controlled the contest in Spain.
It would be a huge shock were the Manchester outfit to surrender a three-goal lead but Maguire has looked to calm the mood by maintaining that the Spanish side cannot be written off.
He said on TNT Sports: “The tie is not done, we’ll be focused next Thursday and I’m sure Old Trafford will be like this place.” United can go someway to salvaging their season with victory in the Europa League – which would ensure Champions League qualification.
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Maguire has come up with several huge contributions in Europe this term. He scored a late header in a stunning comeback win over Lyon recently and then showed more attacking quality in Bilbao – claiming that he must now have the trust of his United team-mates.
He said: “I found myself attacking the back post and then I think Garna passed me the ball, but it was nice do a bit of dribbling out there and put in a decent cross. We had a lot of bodies in the box so they must’ve trusted me to get that cross in which was a nice feeling and Casa put it in the bad of the net.”
United had all but killed the game by the interval, hushing the crowd in the process. As a result they chose to manage the game and failed to add a fourth with Maguire admitting they perhaps played it safe as they looked to ensure they didn’t had any glimmer of hope to Bilbao.
He said: “It was a clinical first-half, a professional second-half. We had chances to get the fourth we maybe could’ve played with more tempo, we maybe played too safe but it was a great victory in the end.”
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