Williams brothers join Sancet in missing Athletic´s Man Utd trip

Nico Williams and Inaki Williams have joined Oihan Sancet on the sidelines for Athletic Bilbao ahead of the second leg of their Europa League semi-final tie against Manchester United.

Ernesto Valverde’s Athletic face a mammoth task if they are to reach the Europa League final at their home stadium at San Mames, having lost 3-0 at home in the first leg.

In all major European competitions, only one side has ever won the first leg of a two-legged knockout tie away from home by three or more goals and failed to progress.

Maccabi Tel Aviv are the only team to do so, winning 4-1 at Olympiakos in the 2023-24 Europa Conference League last 16, then losing 6-1 at home after extra time in the second leg.

Athletic’s hopes of replicating Olympiakos’ fightback have now suffered a major blow, with their top three scorers from this season all absent from their travelling party.