Bruno Fernandes warns Manchester United about key battle that could decide huge Athletic Club tie

Bruno Fernandes has warned his Manchester United teammates to be wary of the attacking threat Athletic Club have ahead of the first leg of their huge Europa League semi-final tie this week. United warmed up for their massive European tie with a dramatic draw against Bournemouth at the weekend, while the La Liga side have not played since a midweek win over Las Palmas.

United made five changes to their starting line up for the trip to the Vitality Stadium as Ruben Amorim looked to manage the fitness of his side. Luke Shaw started his first club match in 14 months, while Noussair Mazraoui replaced the injured Diogo Dalot at wing-back.

They ended the match on top against the 10 men of Bournemouth, but had struggled when the numbers were level, particularly against the wide threat of Antoine Semenyo and Dango Ouattara. It could be a similar story against Athletic Club, who also happen to have talented wingers.

Bruno Fernandes warns about two key players

Manchester United will come up against an Athletic Club side who sit fourth in La Liga and look certain to play in the Champions League next season, regardless of whether they win the Europa League. The Basque side also boasts some of the best attacking talent in the league, in the shape of brothers Inaki and Nico Williams, as well as Alex Berenguer.

United will need to be at their best if they are to keep their Champions League qualification dream alive and Bruno Fernandes is well aware of the threat they pose. “Both teams are very intense with very quick wingers who are very good in one-v-ones," he told Sky Sports after the draw with Bournemouth. "We have time now to try and focus on what Athletic are going to do, but we have to focus on what we’re going to do.”

"It was very important not to lose the game today. We’re not at the best level in the Premier League, so we needed to get something. It’s not the result we wanted, but we had to push a little to get something. We did enough to at least score one goal. We created enough chances to score more than one goal, but it’s still not enough from us.

“We need to be have more anger than the defenders to get the ball. To get [the ball] first, you need to be focused in everything you do in training. That’s what we have to do from now on. We should have done it already and we’ve been doing it in training, but you need to do it in games.

“Sometimes you get one chance and you score a goal, and sometimes you get 10 or 15 chances and don’t score. With the team we have, we need to get more bodies in the box, create more danger, be more active in the box, and outside the box be much more brave to take our chances.”