Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes has issued a rallying cry to his teammates, emphasizing the need to show more hunger than their opponents when they square up against Spanish La Liga side Athletic Club in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday, May 1, 2025.
United’s struggles in the final third
In their two most recent Premier League outings, United have created more chances than their opponents yet they have failed to secure a victory. After Wolverhampton Wanderers took all three points at Old Trafford on Easter Sunday through a solitary Pablo Sarabia free-kick, the Red Devils managed a draw at the Vitality, with Rasmus Hojlund bagging a stoppage-time equaliser.
Fernandes calls for improvement
Moving away from their domestic struggles, Manchester United have a crucial Europa League semi-final tie at San Mames looming on Thursday. Fernandes admitted the team’s most recent performance was still not good enough and called for improvements before their European tie in a few days.
“Both teams are very intense with very quick wingers who are very good in one-v-ones,” he told Sky Sports. “We have time now to try and focus on what Athletic are going to do, but we have to focus on what we’re going to do.
“It was very important not to lose [against Bournemouth]. We’re not at the best level in the Premier League, so we needed to get something. It’s not the result we wanted, but we had to push a little to get something. We did enough to at least score one goal. We created enough chances to score more than one goal, but it’s still not enough from us.
“We need to have more hunger than the defenders to get the ball. To get [the ball] first, you need to be focused in everything you do in training. That’s what we have to do from now on. We should have done it already and we’ve been doing it in training, but you need to do it in games.
“Sometimes you get one chance and you score a goal, and sometimes you get 10 or 15 chances and don’t score. With the team we have, we need to get more bodies in the box, create more danger, be more active in the box, and outside the box be much more brave to take our chances.”
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