I was looking forward to relaxing after a nice week – a bit of work in the studio and a good day today looking at some used cars with a mate, followed by a decent game of football tonight with a few beers and a solid win for United. Then Bilbao turned up and we lost 2-3.
I have to say they are a decent team and really brought the game to us tonight. We could learn a thing or two from them about how to approach this Europa League – they looked like they wanted to play and had a real desire to win, which we didn’t always. Sir Alex is really going to have to sort the defence out if we’re going to do anything in Europe this season; there were times when they just didn’t look interested.
Which brings me on to the main talking point and I’m sure I’m not the only one who learnt tonight that it’s an offence to play without two boots on, which is exactly what led to Athletic Bilbao’s third goal – a free kick given because one of Evra’s boots came off. The real travesty of that goal was our defender, Rafael, who could easily have cleared the rebound from a De Gea save but just stood watching while the Bilbao striker stuck it in the net – useless!
I don’t like ending on a negative note though and perhaps the one positive to come out of tonight’s game was David De Gea’s performance. He’s had some stick since he came into the team but he showed tonight what a great goalkeeper he really is, so here’s to him – and hoping for a result when we play the return leg next week.
Tags: Athletic Bilbao, Buying a used car, David De Gea, Europa League, Football, Man United, Patrice Evra, Rafael Da Silva
