Topics: Manchester United, Football, Erik Ten Hag, Premier League, Champions League, Rasmus Hojlund, Ruben Amorim, Europa League
Manchester United supporters have claimed that one player should not start the Europa League final on May 21, after watching his performance against Chelsea.
Next Wednesday, the all-Premier League Europa League final between Man United and Spurs will take place at Bilbao’s San Mames.
Of course, a victory would see the winners lift the 15kg Europa League trophy, which would also secure qualification for next season’s Champions League despite both clubs’ lowly league positions.
Speaking at a press conference earlier this week, United head coach Ruben Amorim claimed his team must win a final “no matter what”.
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Amorim said: “No, it's just that feeling that I played the final as a player but I lost, and it doesn't matter. You will never say that I was a finalist. You have to win the final, no matter what. The feeling is going to be - what a waste of time, and the pain will be tougher in the final. My message to the players - we need to win it or else it doesn't matter."
He added: “It's a thing of our players also, and they've proved in the past that in these kind of games, they are prepared to do that. So we will be prepared for the game."
On Friday (May 16), Spurs were beaten 2-0 by Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, while United fell to a 1-0 loss against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
And ahead of the Red Devils’ season-defining match in Spain’s Basque region, some supporters have had enough of one particular player.
One fan said: "I can't believe I'm gonna have to watch Hojlund start a full 90 minutes in a European final.
"I wonder what I did in a past life to deserve this."
Another added: "Rasmus Hojlund is one of those footballers when you watch a small clip of him you will think he’s so terrible but when you watch him for a full 90, you’re absolutely right."
A third claimed: "Rasmus Hojlund shouldn’t and cannot start the final, he doesn’t deserve to. This is so bad now."
While a fourth commented: "Ramus Hojlund losing the ball as soon as he gets it is something I’m looking forward to not seeing."
As a fifth explained: " I don’t like being harsh, but Rasmus Højlund is a serious problem for United right now. Every game feels like we’re playing with 10 men. When he gets the ball, he gives it away. He's becoming a passenger in attack — even teammates look hesitant to give him the ball. At some point, you have to be honest."
Speaking to BBC's Match of the Day following his side's defeat, Amorim said: "I think we started great, well but in the final third we needed to be a bit more aggressive. We were there, we faced the game in the right way. It was a bit of bad luck today. Sometimes we want to press and to score a goal but we lost a little bit of concentration.
"It was different but you never like when you lose the game. We were competitive, that was clear.
"We have to prepare for each competition, with five days, we can rest. We have five days to prepare [for the Europa League final], two days to fully recover and then two days to prepare.
"In the end I looked at all the players and I think they are ok."
