Rio Recovery
Rio Ferdinand is set to miss Manchester United’s Europa League clash with Athletic Bilbao after being struck down with illness.
Ferdinand, 46, took to social media on Wednesday with a selfie from his hospital bed.
He was due to be in Paris to cover PSG vs Arsenal’s second leg in the Champions League.
But Ferdinand could not make the trip due to his health.
Bao out
Ruben Amorim is worried about losing to Athletic Bilbao as his team have a tendency to “lose our minds”.
The manager admitted in his pre-match press conference: “We cannot control, we cannot say what is going to happen.
“There are some teams that understand the game is going to be like this.
“It can change a little bit but the story is going to be like this and you can control the narrative of the game. But we cannot do that.
“We have to face the game as one more game, to win it, I feel we need to score to go to the next round.
“We use Brentford, we are near a draw then we suffer a goal and another goal quite fast.
“We will have to suffer a bit to go to the final and we are ready to suffer.”
Garna stay
Alejandro Garnacho has vowed to stay at Manchester United and could now smash one of his idol Cristiano Ronaldo’s records.
The Argentine brushed off comparisons with Ronaldo as he stands on the brink of surpassing one of the Portuguese superstar’s many feats.
Yet he knows he will likely have to deal with them for as long as he remains a United player.
After all, it was Ronaldo who created the Argentinian winger’s first goal for the Red Devils back in November 2022.
And when the six-time Ballon d’Or winner left Old Trafford for the second and final time a few weeks later, the Stretford End immediately gave his song to Garnacho.
But deep down he probably would not have it any other way.
Manta Stay
Manchester United’s young Saka-like starlet Bendito Mantato has signed his first professional contract with the club.
Mantato, 17, was named on the bench for the first time last week as he travelled to Spain for the first leg of United‘s Europa League semi-final against Athletic Bilbao.
He was also absent from Monday’s U21 squad to face West Ham to be instead part of the preparations for the second leg on Thursday night.
The teenager is so highly-rated that he has drawn comparisons with Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka with his dynamic left-footed play on the right wing.
His journey from wing-back to right wing mirrors the Arsenal star’s youth journey and makes him an attractive fit for Ruben Amorim‘s side.
The United boss has experimented with wing-backs this season, using Patrick Dorgu and Diogo Dalot in the role.
(Red Devils)
Manchester United will not wear their usual home kit against West Ham at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils host the Hammers in the Premier League on Sunday in the battle to avoid finishing 17th.
But United’s red home shirt is being changed for the match.
Rather than the logo of sponsors Snapdragon on the front of the jersey, the symbol for (Red) will feature instead.
The special edition changed tops will also be used for Manchester United Women’s WSL clash with Arsenal on Saturday.
The one-off shirts from the matches will then be sold off on online auction site MatchWornShirt to raise funds, with net proceeds going to (Red)’s campaign against health injustice.
Welcome!
We have a big night in store for Manchester United with a place in the Europa League final up for grabs.
Ruben Amorim’s side were incredible last week in the Basque country, putting Athletic to the sword with a superb 3-0 win.
Surely even they can’t blow a lead from this position…
We’ll bring you all the build-up to a huge night at Old Trafford.
