Talk of the Devils: The Athletic FC's Manchester United show

It was supposed to be party time; 24 hours in a cultural and culinary paradise, taking the edge off an awful season. Instead we're left wondering what happens next... for the team, the players, even the manager.

Ange Postecoglu's Spurs are the Europa League champions, they will play Champions League football next season and represent the Premier League in the European Super Cup... Manchester United will have to come to terms with the sporting, commercial, and financial, realities of a 40-game diet of domestic football.

Although there is one more game, one we're now dreading against a very good Villa side, the loss in Bilbao feels like a line drawn under a dreadful season. It may yet lead to lines drawn under some tenures at the club.

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You asked for it; here it is. We manifested a dramatic European night at Old Trafford and a monumental victory away from home against Athletic Club.

Now, as the team (and the fans) return to Bilbao for the Europa League final, we're going back through history to catalogue the eight previous showpiece games.

Featuring the most famous Champions League final of all time, bar none, here are the highs and occasional lows of Man United's history in Euro finals.

1991 Rotterdam Revisited is available to watch on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKyw2-fCeFU&pp=ygUPMTk5MSByZXZpc2l0aWVk

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Here it is, then: the match that will define the season, even if it's impossible to save. It's the match that could well dictate the future of Ruben Amorim at United and the next chapter of the club's history.

If that makes you nervous, you're not alone.

The team's performance at Chelsea on Friday night has us worried about all sorts of things, from personnel to tactics, to Ange. Still, at least Spurs have just as many worries.

One thing we are absolutely definitely looking forward to is visiting the great city of Bilbao and there's nobody better to show us around than Basque geographer and historian, Andreu Mittxen.

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This is the second of a two-part Talk of the Devils Extra, a detailed history of the controversial purchase and subsequent ownership of Manchester United by American investor Malcolm Glazer and his six children.

Part one, referenced heavily in this conversation, tells the story of the Glazer takeover in 2005 with contributions from three key perspectives; fan activist Andy Walsh, former Labour Minister for Sport Richard Caborn, and ex-United board member, economist Jim O'Neill.

Now we will bring the story up to the present day, analyse the impact of the Glazer era, the relationship between the Glazers and minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, get a glimpse of the Glazers in Tampa Bay, and try to forecast the future of United's ownership.

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Welcome to this special two-part Talk of the Devils Extra, a detailed history of the controversial purchase and subsequent ownership of Manchester United by American investor Malcolm Glazer and his six children.

This first part will recount the events leading up to the Glazer takeover in 2005 with contributions from three key perspectives; fan activist Andy Walsh, former Labour Minister for Sport Richard Caborn, and United board member, economist Jim O'Neill.

In part two to follow 24 hours later we will bring the story up to the present day, analyse the relationship between the Glazers and minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and try to forecast the future of United's ownership.

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Manchester United suffered their 17th defeat of the Premier League season with manager Ruben Amorim struggling to contain his frustration at a team that, while headed for a European final, don't have the right "feeling" when it comes to losing in the league.

We talk about how we feel as fans when the team plays this far below expectations, and commiserate someone who has voluntarily restricted himself to a diet of league-only football at Old Trafford this season.

This coming weekend, the women's team are headed to Wembley with invincible WSL winners Chelsea between them and the Mitten Standard, while we can barely bring ourselves to consider what might happen at Stamford Bridge on Friday night.

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Mason Mount had his best moment in his injury-hit United career so far and then twenty minutes later he had an even better one as Ruben Amorim's men recovered from a rocky start to, eventually, cruise into the Europa League final.

Low on confidence and struggling to get out of their own third, it took a triple sub from the manager to liven up the performance, but the impact was almost instantaneous. Bookended by the two Mount goals, Casemiro and Rasmus Hojlund also scored, making it a remarkable 7-1 on aggregate against an accomplished Athletic Club.

So it's another trip to Bilbao, this time to face Tottenham on May 21st; an opponent United haven't beaten since October 2022. Will it play out as a Premier League fixture might? We're not so sure. West Ham probably will on Sunday, though.

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Manchester United's terrible run of form in the Premier League continued at Brentford as a VERY youthful side lost 4-3. Alejandro Garnacho had a good day, as did Mason Mount, but it's all a bit 'Groundhog Day' and we're not too perturbed by the result.

We will, however, be disconsolate if Amorim's men are not able to defend their three goal lead going into the second leg of the Europa League semi-final against Athletic Club.

Champions League football is the prize, of course. Manchester United's women achieved that at City's expense with a battling draw in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford.

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Harry Maguire, we have now established, can do anything he wishes. From ball-winning centre-half, to aerial target man, to tricksy winger...

After a nervy first twenty minutes in Bilbao, Maguire (wide on the right) turned, turned again, and delivered the cross which Casemiro eventually headed home. Then came the Bruno show.

A nerveless penalty, won by Rasmus Hojlund, before bursting through to add a third first-half goal, the skipper's stats are astonishing. More importantly, Manchester United are on the brink of a Europa League final.

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Ruben Amorim's Manchester United team head to Bilbao on Thursday night for the first leg of a Europa League semi-final that will define this season, but what are United's greatest European away days?

From the early days of Best and Busby, touched of course by the Munich air disaster, through the lean years, the Fergie era, and one or two modern classics, there are many great performances to choose from.

When it comes to Europe, though, it's not just about the football. Exploring beautiful cities, different cultures, missed connections, and the occasional drink, there's so much more to relive than Roy Keane just doing his job in Turin.

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