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Pre-match entertainment. Sid Lowe speaks to Iñaki Williams about a Basque institution that is not only a club, but also a way of life.
Athletic Club finished second in the mega-group, one place behind Lazio, one place ahead of Manchester United. Given Spurs are contesting the other semi-final tonight, and Lazio were knocked out on penalties in the quarters, this table proved to be quite the harbinger on the whole. (For the record, Lazio’s quarter-final conquerors, and Tottenham’s opponents this evening, Bodø/Glimt, finished ninth in the table.)
Anyway, Bilbao subsequently did for Roma and Rangers, while United have seen off Bilbao’s arch-rivals Real Sociedad and Lyon. And here we are.
Manchester United make two changes to their starting XI after the 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Sunday. Victor Lindelöf and Manuel Ugarte take the places of Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo, who both drop to the bench. Alongside them in the dugout: returning heroes Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt.
Athletic’s star man Nico Williams had been an injury doubt, but he came on as a sub during his team’s 1-0 La Liga win over Las Palmas last Wednesday, and is back in the starting XI tonight. As for the rest of the team, it’s the return of the Las Palmas nine, with the only other player stepping up being goalkeeper Julen Agirrezabala. Unai Simón drops to the bench, while Oihan Sancet misses out altogether.
The teams
Athletic Club: Agirrezabala, de Marcos, Vivian, Álvarez, Yuri, Jauregizar, Ruiz De Galarreta, Iñaki Williams, Berenguer, Nico Williams, Sannadi.
Subs: Boiro, Canales, Gomez, Prados, Nunez, Lekue, Djalo, Guruzeta, Vesga, Paredes, Gorosabel, Simon.
Manchester United: Onana, Yoro, Maguire, Lindelöf, Mazraoui, Casemiro, Ugarte, Dorgu, Garnacho, Fernandes, Højlund.
Subs: Bayindir, Heaton, de Ligt, Mount, Eriksen, Diallo, Shaw, Mainoo, Amass, Fredricson, Kamason, Mantato.
Referee: Espen Eskås (Norway).
VAR: Per Svärd (Sweden).
Preamble
These two grand old clubs have very different records in Europe. Manchester United have won six trophies on the continent; Athletic Club of Bilbao are still searching for their first. And yet on the head-to-head, things are much more of a piece. The clubs have met competitively only twice before: in the 1956-57 European Cup quarter-finals, when United overturned a 5-3 first-leg defeat with a 3-0 win at Maine Road, Dennis Viollet, Tommy Taylor and Johnny Berry with the goals under the floodlights that necessitated their playing across the city; and in the 2011-12 Europa League round of 16, Athletic winning home and away to chalk up a 5-3 aggregate victory, Fernando Llorente one of the scorers doing the damage at Old Trafford.
Let’s tot it up, then. One tie apiece. Three Athletic wins to one for United. Ten Athletic goals to nine by United. Could it be much closer? Not really, no. And another goalfest could well be on the cards, because Athletic have won six our of six at Estadio de San Mamés during their run to this Europa League semi-final, scoring 14 times along the way, while United’s carry-on in the previous round against Lyon told you all you need to know about them. This could be great fun, then. Kick-off is at 9pm Basque Country time, 8pm BST. It’s on!
