Amorim: Europa title won't save Man Utd's season

BILBAO, Spain -- Ruben Amorim has said that not even winning the Europa League will save Manchester United's season.

United face Athletic Club in the semifinal first leg on Thursday with a place in next month's final -- also being held in Bilbao -- on the line.

Lifting the trophy would hand Amorim silverware in his first year and earn a place in the Champions League.

But with the team set for their lowest-ever Premier League finish, Amorim has warned that it still won't make up for what has been a dire campaign.

"We know nothing is going to save our season but this can be huge," Amorim said.

"Winning a trophy, getting in the Champions League to play European games next year could change a lot of things in our club in the summer."

Amorim says winning the Europa League will be a "short cut" to the Champions League with United already guaranteed to finish well adrift of the five qualification places in the league.

It would also afford the Portuguese coach the opportunity to make more changes to his squad in the summer transfer window owing to the financial boost that comes with playing in Europe's top club competition.

But having won just six of his 23 Premier League games since arriving in November, Amorim insists that winning the Europa League won't magically solve all of his problems.

"We need to change a lot of things and we need to be consistent," he said.

"Europa League will not change anything in our problems. It's going to give us Champions League next year, more money to spend, but the problems are still there.

"We have to change the minds of our fans with consistency, good decisions, good recruitment, good academy.

"This is what we need to change to take our club back to the top. This is more of a shortcut to go to the European games. Nothing more.

"The problems we need to solve in a different way with more time and we're really clear on that."

One of Amorim's issues is a lack of goals in his team.

Only Everton, Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton have scored fewer goals in the Premier League. On Sunday, striker Rasmus Højlund scored just his second goal of 2025 in the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth.

United face a tough task to break down Athletic Club, who have the best defensive record in Spain and the best home defensive record in Europe's top five leagues having conceded just 10 goals.

"They are the best defence in Spain in the league," said Amorim, who is hopeful of being able to include Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt on the bench after they returned to training following injury.

"We are not scoring too many goals, so it's going to be a tough match for us.

"We know that in the beginning of the game, 20 or 30 minutes especially, they are really strong, really intense.

"They use the crowd to take the game to a different level. We are prepared for that, so we are going to face a very strong team."