Opinion: Lifting the Europa League should be a non-negotiable for Amorim – even amidst a turbulent term

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·8 de abril de 2025

Opinion: Lifting the Europa League should be a non-negotiable for Amorim – even amidst a turbulent term

Winning Europa League is a must-have for Manchester United.

As bad as the season has been, hoisting the trophy at least means playing Champions League football next year. More importantly, it needs to happen against a number of teams that United would simply be favored against.

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This isn’t anything against Lyon or either Athletic Bilbao or Rangers. A club of United’s stature should be able to comfortably advance against these sides. Even Tottenham are having a woeful season. Ruben Amorim’s side should be able to beat Spurs based on how they are currently looking on the pitch.

Clear-cut chance for needed trophy

That is to say, anything short of winning this European competition would be a failure. As is, the Premier League has been embarrassing, as United came close to being in a relegation battle for a hot minute. There have been some positive strides made, however, in the later months of the campaign.

Since Amorim took over, it has been at times difficult to watch. Marcus Rashford and Antony are playing well out on loan, seemingly as an indictment on the current club operations. The positives are there, although admittedly, they are a little more difficult to see.

The Manchester derby may not have inspired confidence for the current naysayers. That being said, even for the most optimistic of the fanbase, the standard for the remaining month and a half of 2024-2025 needs to be a Europa League win.

Important players are getting healthy, and some players are starting to look more and more comfortable in their role. At no point in this competition will Man Utd face a player who is better than Bruno Fernandes. He is able to create and set teammates up at an all-time level.

Between him and either Diogo Dalot or Casemiro, the captain should have a mismatch in the midfield against all of the remaining opponents. The issue has been in the attack. United lack the ability to finish in the final third or connect on a critical pass.

Small consolation in poor Man Utd season

(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

The team needs to lean on this strong suit. This is especially true in the remaining fixtures of the competition. It, furthermore, shows why favoring United to win is more than a reasonable expectation. Granted, it all has to play out on the pitch. A controversial red or dodgy pen could end up being something of a scapegoat. For the most part, though, Amorim not being able to guide this group toward adding this piece of silverware will need to be regarded as an immense negative.

United are playing well enough now and look promising across the pitch, where them losing to these sides and certainly not having control in matches isn’t acceptable at this point. While some shouts to more or less mail in the rest of league play are overblown, certainly the emphasis and focus need to be on a more than doable UEL.

It’s sad that this is what success has come to mean at United. This is the reality of where things stand after an especially horrific start to the season. With a Champions League spot secured and continued signs of improvement, Amorim could be able to win over those doubting him with a final win in Bilbao, Spain.