logo
Amorim praises ‘perfect' Mount for driving Manchester United into final

Amorim praises ‘perfect' Mount for driving Manchester United into final

Yahoo09-05-2025

A delighted Ruben Amorim praised 'perfect' two-goal Mason Mount, as Manchester United swept past Athletic Bilbao and into the Europa League final against Tottenham, with four late strikes in 19 minutes.
Ruben Amorim's men trailed 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao following Mikel Jauregizar's first-half opener at Old Trafford and led 3-1 on aggregate before Mount equalised on 72 minutes of the second leg. Goals from Casemiro and Rasmus Højlund, in the 79th and 85th minutes followed before Mount scored again in added-time's first minute.
Related: Mount's fine double sweeps Manchester United past Bilbao into all-English final
The 26-year-old's opener came via an impressive pivot-and-curled finish, the second a precise 45-yard shot into Athletic's empty net. The goals were Mount's finest contribution for United following a series of injuries that have blighted him since he signed in summer 2023.
Amorim said: 'I'm so happy for him. He is such a player. He works really hard, he has quality. When you see that kind of guy like Mason working hard every day, eating well, having ice baths, when you have this kind of player you just want to help him. He is perfect for this position as he can be a midfielder, but also runs like a winger so I'm really happy for him.
'Not just me – if you look at the bench, that is the best feeling as a coach, you look at the other guys on the bench and they are so happy for Mason Mount – everyone in that dressing room sees Mason Mount doing everything to be available. He is a really good player and both goals were really good.'
Mount entered on 62 minutes with Amad Diallo and Luke Shaw, as part of a triple change from Amorim that the head coach acknowledged 'changed the game'.
'That is credit to the players,' he added. 'I felt we needed a bit more energy. We needed to keep the ball.'
United are down in 15th and guaranteed to finish in their lowest Premier League place. Amorim was asked what claiming the Europa League in the final at the San Mamés Stadium on Wednesday week would represent.
He said: 'Every coach will say the next one is the most important. Your first is the most important [at a club] because you want to establish yourself as a coach, but it would be massive especially after this season in the Premier League.
'I think that is clear [confidence would be boosted] – the money is not the most important and even to win a title as a coach is that feeling we can do good things, to give something to our fans. So I agree it is not just playing in the Champions League next season, it is that feeling we can change things.'
United have lost twice to Spurs in the league and once in the Carabao Cup this season.
'Every game has its history, we lost the three last games so we can win this one,' said Amorim. 'You look at the odds, we are closer to win than lose. Both teams are going to play all or nothing.
'The position of the coach is similar, I know Ange [Postecoglou] has one more year but we are struggling both of us [in our jobs]. That is the good thing. The bad thing with this team? I never know. We have to understand that a final is completely different from the Premier League.'

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Thomas Tuchel says ‘no need to panic' for England after Senegal defeat
Thomas Tuchel says ‘no need to panic' for England after Senegal defeat

New York Times

timean hour ago

  • New York Times

Thomas Tuchel says ‘no need to panic' for England after Senegal defeat

Thomas Tuchel insists there is no need for England to panic after losing 3-1 at home to Senegal in Tuesday night's friendly. Harry Kane gave England an eighth-minute lead but goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly gave Pape Thiaw's side a deserved victory. Tuchel, 51, had guided England to victories in their World Cup qualification group over Albania, Latvia and Andorra in his opening three matches, but the German coach's 100 per cent winning record was ended at the City Ground in Nottingham. Advertisement 'We lost a test match, so there's no need to panic,' Tuchel said after the game. 'We have played three qualification games, we have nine points and and not conceded. We will be competitive in September and we will go for two more victories 100 per cent. 'We know more now. We are smarter. It is tough at the moment. I'm the first one to hate losses like, like nothing else. But we don't go next week to the World Cup. 'We go in one year, and I think by nature it will get more competitive in the qualification process and in the demands for the players to be selected and to be with us in September, October, November.' Tuchel was quizzed on why striker Ivan Toney was not introduced until the 88th minute, replacing left-back Myles Lewis-Skelly, despite starting No 9 Harry Kane being replaced in the 58th minute by Morgan Rogers. 'No it was too early,' Tuchel said of Toney not being introduced around the hour mark. 'We wanted to play there with Morgan Rogers — more fluid, much more physical player. I think it was too early for Toney because the game was so physical. 'We were not close enough to the goal consistently to get his strengths into play. That is my view of the game.' England return to action at home to Andorra on September 6 before an away game in Serbia three days later. (Eddie Keogh – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

England ‘not good enough' but won't panic
England ‘not good enough' but won't panic

Yahoo

time2 hours ago

  • Yahoo

England ‘not good enough' but won't panic

Captain Harry Kane insisted England are 'not going to panic' following a shock 3-1 friendly loss to Senegal. Three days on from an underwhelming 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Andorra, Thomas Tuchel's side were again booed off by fans. Advertisement Goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly inflicted England's first defeat to an African nation following Kane's early opener at the City Ground in Nottingham. Thomas Tuchel suffered a first defeat as England manager (Nick Potts/PA) 'Again, not really good enough,' Kane told ITV Sport. 'We had again moments; just with and without the ball we aren't quite clicking, aren't quite finding the right passes, finding the right tempo. 'One v one, we're losing duels, we're losing just that aggressive nature that we've had and we got punished, we're playing against a good side. We just weren't good enough today. 'We're not going to panic. But for sure we know we need to do better.' England thought they had levelled late on through Jude Bellingham but his effort was ruled out on review for an adjudged handball by Levi Colwill. Advertisement 'If you know the rules, it's not handball,' said Kane. 'It obviously puts us back in the game at 2-2 and maybe we go on and win the game so it is quite a big moment. 'But that's something to discuss with them (the match officials) afterwards.' England's Jude Bellingham gestures to referee Stephanie Frappart after his goal is disallowed (Mike Egerton/PA) Defeat for England was a first in four matches since the appointment of manager Tuchel. The German coach, who was unhappy with the decision of French referee Stephanie Frappart to disallow Bellingham's effort, said: 'Of course, a disappointing result, not sure if we did not maybe deserve a little bit more result-wise. 'But I felt again we were a little bit frozen, not active enough for a long time of the match. Advertisement '(We) defended quite well for a long period in the first half, then our best period came when we were 2-1 down. Cheikh Sabaly celebrates Senegal's win (Nick Potts/PA) 'We conceded the first two goals, very easy goals that we need to defend better. 'The reaction was good after we were down. I felt suddenly we were more active, more free, more fluid, more aggressive towards the opponent's goal. 'We had big chances to equalise, we 'equalised' (Bellingham's disallowed effort) and couldn't get the last one.'

England sweeps T20 series against the West Indies after Duckett's 84 sets up 37-run win
England sweeps T20 series against the West Indies after Duckett's 84 sets up 37-run win

Associated Press

time2 hours ago

  • Associated Press

England sweeps T20 series against the West Indies after Duckett's 84 sets up 37-run win

SOUTHAMPTON, England (AP) — England completed a 3-0 sweep of the Twenty20 international series against the West Indies after smashing 248-3 en route to a 37-run win in Southampton on Tuesday. Put into bat for what proved a high-scoring third and final match of the series, England racked up its second-highest total in the format as Ben Duckett made a 46-ball 84 and put on 120 for the opening wicket with Jamie Smith, whose 26-ball 60 included five sixes. England delivered its highest-ever score after 10 overs of a T20 — 135-1 — and never let up, with captain Harry Brook (35) and Jacob Bethell (36) sharing an unbroken stand of 70 in 5.1 over to help set an imposing target of 249. The Windies never really got close on a good batting track though still made a commendable 211-8 after slipping to 70-4 after 7.1 overs. Rovman Powell was the top scorer for the tourists with an unbeaten 79 off 45 balls, and captain Shai Hope had a 27-ball 45. England also won the ODI series between the teams by a 3-0 margin, marking an ideal start to the white-ball captaincy for Brook. England's focus switches to test cricket now, with a highly anticipated five-match series against India starting June 20. ___ AP cricket:

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store