Casemiro opened the scoring for the Red Devils at the San Mames Stadium in the first half before Dani Vivian was sent off for Athletic Club only five minutes later.

Bruno Fernandes then doubled United’s advantage from the spot-kick before the 30-year-old Portugal midfielder completed his brace ahead of half-time in the tie.

Athletic Club were left chasing the match against United and the Red Devils held onto their 3-0 lead over the course of the second half on Thursday evening.

United are on the verge of reaching the Europa League final and Ruben Amorim’s men received a major boost after their performance on the night in Bilbao.

The Europa League trophy is crucial for Ruben Amorim’s United side to secure for their route back to Europe for the 2025-26 season with Champions League football.

Amad Diallo makes his feelings clear on his Man Utd return in the Europa League semi-finals vs Athletic Club

Manchester United will welcome Spanish side Athletic Club to Old Trafford on 8th May for the second leg of their Europa League semi-final clash.

Ruben Amorim received a major boost in Spain on Thursday evening with Amad Diallo making his long-awaited return for the Red Devils after his injury.

Amad impressed United fans with his brief cameo after he climbed off the bench in the second half after he withdrew defender Patrick Dorgu in the 84th minute.

The 22-year-old Ivorian forward was initially expected to miss the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign after damaging his ankle ligaments back in February.

However, Amad has since recovered from his setback and the United winger sent out a message on Instagram after he picked up important United first-team minutes.

“GOOD RESULT IN BILBAO,” he wrote, before adding: “HAPPY TO BE BACK [sic].”

Toby Collyer reacted by leaving a heart emoji on Amad’s post and former United youth academy product Maxi Oyedele simply wrote the message: “Backkk [sic].”

What did Ruben Amorim say about Amad Diallo’s return for Man Utd in the 3-0 Europa League semi-final win vs Athletic Club

Speaking after the 3-0 scoreline at the San Mames Stadium, United manager Amorim touched on Luke Shaw and Amad after their displays against Athletic Club.

“When you see Luke Shaw playing, he’s a top player and everything he does is with class and quality,” he said, as per Manchester United’s official website.

“He needs to push himself really hard because we need guys like Luke Shaw and then Amad is really important one against one.

“You can feel it, he doesn’t yet have that explosion to go one against one but the opponent is always looking for that.

“Matta is really important for us. He’s really fast, really strong and good in the build-up so I’m really pleased [to have him back].”

United are now back in action on Sunday afternoon for their Premier League clash against Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium.