Money no substitute for great coaching

It is rare in modern football to see something quite so startling as Athletic Bilbao’s two victories over Manchester United.

That they were capable of high tempo, thrillingly attacking football has been evident in patches since Marcelo Bielsa took over last summer. At home against PSG in the group stage of the Europa League, for instance, they were breathtaking.

They struggle to reproduce that sort of form consistently though, and even the staunchest of Bielsa’s disciples must have doubted whether his side could produce that sort of football for sustained periods against a team of the quality of United. For 180 stunning minutes, they proved they could.