Manchester United’s Europa League campaign hands by a thread after an impressive Athletic Bilbao side beat the English champions 3-2 at Old Trafford on Thursday night.
Wayne Rooney gave the hosts the lead on the 22-minute mark, however Fernando Llorente headed a deserved equaliser just before half time.
However, the Spaniards were the better side in the second period, and rushed into a 3-1 lead through goals from Oscar de Marcos and Iker Munian; Rooney gave the Red Devils some hope with a late penalty.
Despite the setback, Sir Alex Ferguson has stated that his men can still salvage the tie in the second leg at San Mames.
“We were well beaten, I have to say they were the better team,” the Scottish coach admitted to Sky Sports.
“I thought our defending wasn’t very good tonight and that kept us on the back foot all the time. Our attacking play was very good at times and it was an open, entertaining match. But Bilbao were the better side.
“We can still win the game. No question. We showed we can make chances against them, but obviously we have to defend better.
“I need to really look and see how we can maybe bring Rio Ferdinand in without disrupting the league programme,” he concluded.
United travel to face the Basque side in Spain again next Thursday.
By Gareth McKnight
[ad_pod id=’dfp-mpu’ align=’right’]
