Manchester United have lost 15 Premier League matches this season and sit 14th in the table.
Tottenham Hotspur have suffered 19 defeats and lie in 16th.
Yet both sides went about their semi-final first legs as if they were the best teams in England, playing with supreme confidence week-to-week.
How have two underperforming English teams been so convincing in Europe? Manuel Ugarte’s pre-match interview on Wednesday made the situation plain:
💬 “The main difference is the physical part. We have felt better playing in the Europa League. Then, as the coach said, we had games in the Premier League where we had opportunities and we didn’t score.”
Athletic mustered the most intense pressing scheme United have faced in the competition. Unfortunately, it still offered an additional fraction of a second on the ball. Casemiro, Maguire, Fernandes and others used that extra beat to flourish.
Football fans in Bilbao have gone from imagining Athletic playing a dream final at their home stadium, to wondering whether their city has enough hotels, pubs and police to deal with an all-English final.