Athletic Club to play Manchester United in Dublin

Athletic Club will face Manchester United at the Aviva Stadium on August 6 at 16:00 local time. It is the Lions’ fourth confirmed pre-season friendly after matches against Chivas (July 16), Club Necaxa (July 19) and Celtic FC (August 1).

Currently managed by Dutch coach Erik ten Hag, this season the Reds finished third in the Premier League, behind Manchester City and Arsenal. What's more, United won the Carabao Cup, beating Newcastle United in the final, and were runners-up in the FA Cup, losing out to local rivals, Manchester City.

Exclusive presale tickets will be available starting 13 June, with general on-sale ticket access opening on 15 June at 12pm local time. Ticket prices start at €35 for Adults and €20 for Under-16s. Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster.ie.

Historic duels against the Reds

Along with being a demanding pre-season test against one of the giants of European football, this clash will bring back fond memories for most Athleticzales.

The most recent meeting between the two teams remains one of the sweetest memories in Athletic's recent history. In the 2011/12 Europa League round of 16, Los Rojiblancos, backed by 8,000 travelling Athleticzales, produced one of the competition’s most famous wins to beat Man Utd 2-3 at Old Trafford before sealing the deal with a 2-1 triumph against Sir Alex Ferguson's side in the second leg in Bilbao. 

However, the first clash between the two sides came in January 1957 when the Busby Babes visited San Mames for the first leg of their European Cup quarter-final. 

Played under atypically heavy snow in Bilbao, they played out a 5-3 thriller.  “Excellent football, excellent game and excellent supporters,” then Man United Matt Busby said after the match.

Athletic struggled on the return leg, which was played at Man City’s Maine Road, falling to a 3-0 defeat in Manchester. Exactly a year later, on February 6 1957, several of the players and staff from that legendary side tragically passed away in the Munich Air Distaster.

In 1964, a Man Utd side containing the likes of Denis Law and George Best - two thirds of the the 'Holy Trinity' along with Bobby Charlton -  beat a Biscay XI 1-0 at The Cathedral.

The Lions and Red Devils met again 20 years later at the Estadio Riazor, La Coruña. Northern Ireland international Norman Whiteside scored the only goal in a 0-1 victory for Ron Atkinson's side.