Amad admission highlights huge problem Man United need to overcome vs Athletic Bilbao

This time last week, even the most optimistic Manchester United supporter would have struggled to predict the strong position this team finds itself in heading into the Europa League semi-final second leg at Old Trafford.

Athletic Bilbao were not helped by the sending off in the first half to Dani Vivian but in truth, United were good value for their lead once Casemiro put them ahead on the half hour mark. Sitting with a three-goal aggregate advantage was ultimately just rewards for the performance they put in on the night.

Without trying to sound too cliche, Athletic Club can no longer beat United now, only Ruben Amorim's men can do that now. With such a healthy advantage, inconsistency is the only danger that Thursday night's tie at Old Trafford poses.

If United are not fully switched on they could be punished even without Nico Williams, Inaki Williams and their leading goalscorer Oihan Sancet lining up for the Basque club. So how do United overcome this problem?

Well to do that, they need to have the right mentality and Amad's admission in a throwaway interview with Sports Direct suggests they are missing two players who are fundamental to that. "Diogo [Dalot] and Licha [Martinez]," was the Ivorian's response when asked who the hardest trainers in the group were.

"Licha [is the most difficult player to face in training]," he would clarify in an interview with MUTV. "He’s very strong in the training. For him, the training is like the Champions League final.

"He never trains easy, he goes stronger, so it’s harder to train against him." Having these types of players in the squad is invaluable particularly for a game like this.

With such a healthy advantage, the mind can wander and this group does have a few players who