Man Utd's 'unlucky' omen emerges as Ruben Amorim fights to save club's season

Manchester United face a make or break match – and fans might not be happy to hear who the referee is. United have travelled to northern Spain for the first leg of their , with the stakes very high.

are on a five-match winless streak in the and sit a miserable 14th. They know the provides their only route to salvation, with victory in the competition offering a place in next season’s .

Athletic Club will be a tough nut to crack, sitting fourth in and with the best defensive record in the division. The first leg will be overseen by referee Espen Eskas, who will take charge of his second United match.

The 36-year-old Norwegian official oversaw the Champions League group match between United and at Old Trafford in December 2023. It was not a happy occasion for the home side, who lost 1-0 due to Kingsley Coman's goal in the second half.

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Eskas will be assisted by Jan Erik Engan and Isaak Bashevkin, with Morten Krogh as the fourth official, Aleandro Di Paolo on VAR duty and Daniele Chiffi as the VAR assistant.

Of course, United have no control over the officiating team and are fully focused on other matters, although Ruben Amorim has tried to play down the significance of the tie. Asked if there was a different edge to the game, he replied: “Not just the team, but in the fans, in you guys also. Everybody knows that it’s really important for our season.

“We know that nothing is going to save our season but this can be huge, winning a trophy. And also to get in the Champions League, to have European games next year, it could change a lot of things in our club, even in the summer.”

He added: “The context this season is really complicated in every aspect so I don’t see that as an issue. They are excited to be here, they want to win, they are capable of winning. It could change our summer, it could change the next year, but if we want to improve the club, we should not be focused on this.

“It’s not the most important thing in our club. We have to deal with a lot of things in our club and we’ll be fine, with or without Champions League.”

Amorim is expecting a tough test for his side against Athletic. “I think they have a lot of good things,” he said. “They are really strong as a team, they are really intense, they are really aggressive. Even for a Spanish team, they are really aggressive on every duel. They have great players one against one. Nico Williams is a special player.”

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