Bilbao Must Be Licking Their Lips

Manchester United 1 - Ajax 2
Scorers
Manchester United: Hernandez (6)
Ajax: Ozbiliz (37), Alderweireld (87)


Team: De Gea, Smalling, Jones, Rafael, Fabio, Park, Cleverley (Scholes 61), Young (Evans 61), Nani, Berbatov (Welbeck 71), Hernandez

How the hell did we lose this one is beyond me. But gotta give full credit to the youngsters from Amsterdam. They gave it a go, and really made things difficult for us, had it not been for De Gea, we would have been beaten soundly and out of the competition. Instead, we barely scrapped thru to the next round to face Athletic Bilbao, who must be relishing the scalp of the once mighty Manchester United, in the world renowned competition of the Europa League.

We couldn't have asked for a better start. Berbatov and Hernandez combined to put us ahead in the 6th minute with some precise passing from the former and an outstanding finish from the latter. It was richly deserved. Captain of the day, Park, was everywhere from the, pardon the pun, park, and it was looking ominous for the youngster from Ajax. Their defending was naive and porous and it looked a matter of time before the flood gates would open. Bervatov and Hernandez looked like they would have a field day. They were having their way with the Ajax defenders.

As the story goes, we didn't take advantage of our chances and Ajax slowly gain confidence, taking hold of the game and started to make chances of their own. Our midfield faded into the background as Ajax tried to salvage some pride in the tie.

Eventually they found the breakthru and drew level. It was everything they deserved. It's not to say we were poor in anyway either. We were devastating in the counter but just couldn't apply the finishing touch. It was an incredibly entertaining first half, and for most parts, I was secretly wishing we could play this Ajax team every week just for the sake of entertainment. That's right, for those of you who missed it, both teams played their part in a spectacle.

The second half wasn't as enjoyable as a United fan. Right from the whistle, Ajax gave it a go. We simply couldn't cope with their energy, endeavour and enthusiasm. Had it not been for De Gea with a brilliant point blank save early in the half, we would have had to sweat it out for 40 minutes instead of the mere 4 minutes.

Ferguson tried to stem the Ajax charge by introducing Evans and Scholes into the fray. It stopped the dam from bursting, but it was still leaking in large quantities. Eventually Ajax found the winner in the 87th minute from a freekick swung in from the left. It seems that we have problems coping with freekicks coming in from the left. No one followed the runners and Ajax scored, despite a valiant effort from De Gea to keep it out.

We then had to endure a nervy 4-5 minutes for the final whistle. When it finally came, you could feel the collective sigh of relief from Old Trafford.

How the hell did we come from an exciting first half to holding our breathes in the final minutes is honestly beyond me. At the end of the day, I suppose I'm just glad to have lived to fight another day.