Can Man Utd overturn Bielsa's Athletic?
Walking away from Old Trafford last Thursday as Athletic Bilbao continued Manchester United's woes in Europe this season, there was a nagging feeling that the hosts had underestimated their Spanish opponents.
Roared on by 7,000 travelling supporters, Athletic's thrilling 3-2 victory in the last 16 Europa League tie leaves Sir Alex Ferguson's side needing to score at least twice in order to progress. And apart from the 6-1 defeat inflicted by Manchester City earlier this season, it is hard to recall a recent game where the Red Devils have been so outclassed.
As former Valencia and Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez told the Football Focus Forum this week: "I was talking with some former Athletic players and they were telling me that maybe United didn't realise how strong and how good Athletic could be."
Matches are often won or lost thanks to a moment of magic or a simple error, but sometimes a manager's tactical switch or why a team or player have hit form are worthy of further investigation. That is what this blog intends to do, with the help of expert opinion, tactical statistics and, of course, your ideas.
