Mason Mount believes the lyric from the supporters' chant embellished on the Old Trafford tifo banner for our quarter-final victory over Olympique Lyonnais now defines the squad’s mentality moving forward.
Manchester United travel to Athletic Club on Thursday night for the Europa League semi-final first leg, and our no.7 is clear on the challenge that the Basque outfit will present.
But after the late heroics in our 5-4 extra-time home victory over Lyon — following a hard-fought 2-2 draw on the road — Mason is sure that the special moments which have defined our run to this stage will inspire what is to come next.
“Lyon was a special night,”
Mount reflects in his conversation with club media.
“It’s a game I’ll remember for a very long time. It’s still probably not actually settled in, what happened at the end! It was a crazy, crazy 10 minutes. We conceded the penalty and it was 4-2. We were 4-2 down and, the next minute, I was in celebrating with the crowd — it was the craziest game! I watched that goal for about two days straight after!
“I think all of us were watching it, just saying this is unbelievable. It gives you goosebumps watching the celebrations and all of us running into that corner.
“To end like that and get the win was obviously massively important for our campaign but [also] to build togetherness because you can’t win games like that if you’re not together as a team and I think we showed that in abundance.
“He [Ruben Amorim] was very calm [at 4-2]. He gave us messages that we needed to adapt to the game. We knew going into that [second] half of extra-time that we’d have a lot of possession and they’d try to drop deep to defend the box. That was the situation, and then it’s down to us to create those opportunities and those magic moments.
“Kobs [Mainoo] had the goal, then the goal from H [Harry Maguire] right at the end. They’re the moments that we know we’ve got in us. Anything can happen. We’re never out of the game. We know what we can do, we know what we can produce.
“Our goal is to win this competition and we’re gonna do everything we can to achieve that. We know the two games coming up are going to be tough against a good team, but we want to recreate those special moments here, and obviously in the away game first. It’s going to be an amazing game, we’re all looking forward to it, and that’s the thing we’re always gonna be telling each other: ‘Never gonna stop’, because it’s never gonna be over.”
BUILDING TOWARDS KICK-OFF
We can’t wait for this semi-final. If you want to see all the build-up, here are the key moments to be aware of…
Soon after training, Ruben and his squad will travel to Bilbao. Most of the squad will rest up upon arrival, but Ruben and Manuel Ugarte will conduct media duties at Athletic’s San Mames. We’ll be there to give you the key lines from the 18:00 BST press conference. Plus, keep an eye across our channels as we meet travelling Reds out in Bilbao and tell you a bit about Athletic and their club traditions.
On Thursday, it’s matchday! We’ll have updates for you throughout the day on ManUtd.com and the United App before Matchday Live begins on MUTV at 18:55 BST, featuring live radio commentary of the game.