Manchester United may have come away from Bilbao with a 3-0 goal advantage in their Europa League semi-final first leg, but for Paul Scholes, there was still room for improvement.
United were excellent at the San Mames stadium, with Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes both on target on the night against the 10 men of Athletic Club to secure a vital victory.
The Red Devils fully deserved their win in the Basque Country, and will now feel like they have taken a huge stride towards securing a spot in the final back in Bilbao in just a few weeks.
In his post-match comments Ruben Amorim underlined that his side would not be getting ahead of themselves, but Scholes was also quick to point out that it was still not the perfect performance.
‘I still think second half they were a little bit sloppy at times,’ the legendary former England and Man United midfielder said in the TNT Sports studio.
‘I think they could have managed the game a little bit better, possibly gone for the fourth and fifth goals.
Club legend Paul Scholes insisted Manchester United could still have improved on Thursday
United deserved their 3-0 win over Bilbao and have taken a huge step towards making the final
Captain Bruno Fernandes was twice on target in a dominant first half from the visitors
‘But when you’re playing against 10 men you don’t give the other team a sniff of the ball.’
He added: ‘I think if they’d kept the ball better another goal would have come. The one thing they didn’t want was to concede a goal and that never looked like it was going to happen.’
Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes in particular starred for the Red Devils in a performance that was impressive despite the red card for Athletic Club, rather than because of it.
The visitors also had to contend with the deeply partisan home crowd, who provided an exceptional atmosphere for the neutral, but one naturally intimidating for any not in the red-and-white home kit.
There is still the return leg to play at Old Trafford, of course, and though Scholes felt there were areas to be improved upon, he still felt United should be confident of their spot in the final, though he admitted anything could still happen.
‘They should be [through],’ he said. ‘You’d be very confident of that happening.
‘At 3-0 this should be over, but it’s United these days we don’t really know what we’re going to get. They have been beaten at home 3-0 by a couple of teams this year.
‘You always go into it saying it’s not over, but really from here it should be over and I think it is.’
The return leg will be played at Old Trafford next Thursday, and with Tottenham also winning their first leg – 3-1 at home to Bodo/Glimt – there is the exciting prospect of an all English final on the cards, for that all important spot in the Champions League next term.
