LONDON: Ruben Amorim has bet the house on the Europa League after Manchester United’s disastrous Premier League campaign, knowing this season and next hinge on winning the competition.

The Portuguese manager took over from the sacked Erik ten Hag in November, with United a miserable 13th in the table. Now they are 14th.

That the former Sporting Lisbon boss is not under more intense pressure is largely due to a general appreciation of the scale of the task he faces at Old Trafford.

United, so dominant domestically under former manager Alex Fergu­son, will finish the season with their lowest points tally in the Premier League era.

But Amorim’s team can still rescue their campaign with victory in the Europa League, which brings with it a place in next season’s Champions League.

A return to Europe’s top club competition could transform the future of United in the short term, boosting the coffers and making Old Trafford a more attractive destination for much-needed new recruits.

But United face a tough task in the semi-finals against Athletic Bilbao, fourth in La Liga, who have the added incentive of knowing the final will be held at their stadium.

The winners of the tie will face either fellow strugglers Tottenham Hotspur or Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt in the final.

Spurs suffered their 19th defeat of a demoralising Premier League campaign at Anfield on Sunday, crumbling 5-1 as swaggering Liverpool were crowned champions.

The predictable loss left them 16th in the table — on course for their worst league finish since they were relegated from the English top flight in 1977, though they cannot go down.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou can still make good on his claim that he always wins a trophy in his second season but he must find a way to inspire his struggling side as they host Bodø/Glimt in the first leg with all their eggs now in one basket.

United produced a comeback for the ages to see off Olympique Lyon­nais in the quarter-finals, scoring three times in seven minutes in front of a disbelieving Old Trafford crowd.

But they have since returned to type, losing to Wolverhampton Wand­e­rers and drawing at Bournemouth in the Premier League as Liverpool equalled their record of 20 English top-flight titles.

Bizarrely, despite their appalling Pre­mier League form, United are the only team unbeaten in the Champions League and Europa League this season.

Bilbao have never won a European trophy but have twice lost a Europa League final, including in 2012 when they beat United along the way.

Last year they won the Copa del Rey, ending a 40-year wait for a major trophy. Coach Ernesto Valverde warned his players that no matter what they accomplish on Thursday, it will only be half-time in the tie.

“Whatever happens, the tie will be decided in the second leg,” he said. “You have to play two good matches to advance, and tomorrow is the first of them.

“It is an important match for the season and also in the club’s history. In these competitions, a mistake or one bad minute can send you out. These are knock-out phases, and you need to know how to play and manage them.”

HISTORIC RUN

The first leg against Tottenham in London is Bodø/Glimt’s biggest ever match.

The club from just north of the Arctic Circle will become the first Norwegian team to play in the semi-finals of a major European competition — a stunning achievement for a side from a town with a population of barely 50,000 situated almost 1,200 kilometres, or 16 hours, by road north of Norway’s capital Oslo.

Their four league titles in five years under manager Kjetil Knutsen, who has been in charge since 2018, has led to them competing consistently in Europe, and Postecoglou said Spurs will not be taking their home clash lightly as they chase their first silverware for 17 years and their first continental trophy for 41 years.

“They have been pretty consistent the last few years, the same manager and a core group of players,” Poste­coglou told reporters on Wednesday.

“They definitely have a distinct style of football that they have stuck to and have had success with. They have been pretty consistent in the Norwegian league but also in Europe.

“Every game they have played, irrespective of the opposition, and they have played some really good quality opposition in Europe, they have always been really competitive.”

Postecoglou’s future at the club under scrutiny, but the manager wants to put all that to one side with his club having an “unbelievable opportunity” to end a miserable season with a trophy.

“I just don’t think that we can do anything other than really concentrate on the unbelievable opportunity we’ve got before us,” he said. “Irres­pective of what kind of season you have, how often will you be in this position? History tells you not that often. So any thoughts about what’s going to happen next year or what’s happened this year is not really of any importance.”

Published in Dawn, May 1st, 2025