Ruben Amorim willing to take risks as Man Utd prioritise Europa League | OneFootball

Ruben Amorim knows it is a “risk” to rotate when Manchester United return to Premier League action at Brentford on Sunday but says he has to prioritise their quest for Europa League glory.

The Red Devils took a huge step towards the final with Thursday’s impressive 3-0 semi-final first leg win against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames, where the showpiece will take place against Tottenham or Bodo/Glimt on May 21.

The Europa League offers silverware and much-needed Champions League qualification for a United side enduring their worst ever Premier League campaign, leaving them 14th on a meagre 39 points with four games to play.

Sunday’s trip to Brentford is up next and Amorim is ready to gamble on the result at the Gtech Community Stadium, but not players’ welfare with a key second leg against Athletic to come on Thursday.

“We know that we have always a responsibility but in this moment we have to take a risk,” Amorim said.

“There are some positions that we don’t have more players. For example, Nous Mazraoui cannot play.

“He is in the limit to get an injury, so we are going to deal with that and prepare a game against a team that won (against Nottingham Forest) and is in the great moment.

“We have always a responsibility to perform. We have always a responsibility of the result. But in this moment we have to be clear: our focus is more on saving players and trying to be competitive. It’s not a good thing to say but we need to understand the context.”

United’s expanded 26-man squad for the trip to Bilbao pointed towards possible changes as the side stayed to train in Spain on Friday.

Chido Obi, 17, and Sekou Kone, 19, travelled despite being ineligible for the Europa League, while Bendito Mantato, 17, and Jaydan Kamason, 18, were also with the group along with recent debutant Tyler Fredricson, 20.

“The first thing is that the players that are in risk to get an injury will not play,” Amorim said of his approach at Brentford. “No matter what. We need to take a risk in that.

“And then we are going to assess (on Friday) and the next day who are the best players to start the game.

“Then we have to be careful because we are Manchester United and we cannot go to a game without thinking we can win this game.

“So, the process is going to be like that, it’s going to be tough but we passed so many things this year. This is one more. Let’s see.”

Amorim will be tempted to be cautious with Amad Diallo and Matthis de Ligt after the pair returned from injury lay-offs as substitutes at San Mames. Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez and Joshua Zirkzee are out, while Ayden Heaven and Toby Collyer did not travel as they recover from issues of their own.

Amorim mentioned the latter when speaking about the resurgence of Thursday’s goalscorer Casemiro, who has gone from struggling for game time to a key piece of the puzzle.

“I think he improved a lot also and you can see not the way he plays, but the way he runs,” the boss said.

“You can see it. We have the data to show he worked really, really hard.

“He is a very good example. He was not playing, even Toby sometimes was playing in front of him and now it’s hard to take Casemiro (out of the team), so it’s a lesson for all the players in Manchester United.

“No matter what is the past or the last month, everything can change in one moment.”