Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim has challenged his players to redeem their disappointing campaign by winning the Europa League, describing it as a “big responsibility” amid their ongoing struggles in the Premier League.
The Red Devils face Athletic Bilbao on Thursday at Old Trafford in the second leg of their Europa League semi-final, holding a commanding 3-0 lead from the first leg.
Okay.ng reports that Amorim’s call comes after United’s latest setback on Sunday, a 4-3 Premier League defeat at Brentford. That loss extended United’s winless league run to six games and left them 15th in the table, dangerously close to their worst league finish since the 1973-74 relegation season.
United were trailing 4-1 against Brentford before late strikes from Alejandro Garnacho and Amad Diallo provided slight consolation.
Reflecting on the mounting pressure, Amorim admitted:
“I think it’s stressful to lose games. When we’re fighting for a title it’s not stressful.”
Despite their struggles domestically, Amorim sees significant improvement in his team’s overall play and remains confident they can capitalize on their Europa League opportunity to secure Champions League qualification next season.
“I have no doubts that we are playing better and we are understanding the way we play, even in this context,” he explained.
Recognising the critical nature of the Bilbao clash, Amorim rotated heavily against Brentford, making eight changes, leaving key figures Bruno Fernandes and Harry Maguire on the bench. His decision highlighted the Europa League as United’s current priority.
“We, as a club, need to understand in this moment that we have a big responsibility (to win the Europa League). We have to prepare a squad for different competitions,” Amorim stressed.
He further emphasized the necessity of rotating players to maintain fitness and manage fatigue, despite the risks involved in league matches.
“Rotation is good for the players. Everybody is playing, we are preparing more than one game but it’s hard. Of course we want to be competitive, we struggled a lot during these 90 minutes,” he added.
“We have to think about the next game and then the Premier League. It’s really hard but we are doing the best we can to try to manage the situation and try to risk in some games.”
