PARIS: The rescue act is on for Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Big wins for both teams in the first legs of the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday kept alive their hopes of lifting a major trophy and qualifying for the Champions League.
United beat 10-man Athletic Bilbao 3-0 at the San Mames in Spain and Tottenham won 3-1 at home against Norwegian club Bodo/Glimt.
Both United and Spurs have endured miserable domestic campaigns and are languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League. But European club football’s second-tier Europa League could yet see one of them salvage their season.
Not only is silverware on the line, but so is an unlikely route to the lucrative Champions League as the prize for winning the competition.
United’s victory in the Basque country ensured they remain the only team unbeaten in European competition this season, in contrast to the fact they are on course for a worst-ever Premier League points haul.
“It’s hard to explain,” manager Ruben Amorim said. “We improve in the last games. I don’t look just to the results. We had some games that we won that we didn’t play well and some games that we lost but we played well. Sometimes you just need a little bit luck.
“We can win this competition and in Premier League we are just suffering game after game and try to manage both things with some injuries. Sometimes it’s harder even for the players. I know that is hard to understand, but sometimes it’s the context, it’s the way we see things.”
An all-Premier League clash in the final would present a fascinating duel and under-pressure Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou could yet live up to his proclamation that he always wins a trophy in his second season.
That record — which was carried through with former clubs Brisbane Roar, Yokohama F Marinos and Celtic — has looked in serious jeopardy for much of a season that has seen Spurs lose 19 times in the league and left them languishing in 16th place.
But the win against Bodo/Glimt at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will fuel belief that Postecoglou could deliver the goods again as they bid to end a 17-year trophy drought.
Tottenham haven’t won a major European prize since lifting the UEFA Cup in 1984 and Postecoglou said he was “super proud” of his team after they bounced back from a 5-1 loss at Liverpool, who won the title, to put one foot in the final.
“All the way through Europe, we’ve hit some really good levels and played some really good football. We’ve faced some difficult challenges and overcome them in a real composed manner,” the Australian said.
“It was a difficult day for us last weekend (at Liverpool). I was really pleased with the players’ mentality, which has been really strong all the way through the European campaign.”
Chelsea completed a good night for English teams by beating Swedish side Djurgarden 4-1 in Stockholm in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League semi-final.
Real Betis won 2-1 against two-time runners-up Fiorentina with on-loan United forward Antony getting a goal to maintain his impressive form since moving to Spain.
BLISTERING FIRST-HALF DISPLAY
In a raucous San Mames atmosphere, with supporters dreaming of a first-ever European trophy, three first-half goals helped United take a commanding first-leg lead.
The Bilbao players fed off the crowd’s energy early on, creating the better of the initial chances but Casemiro arrived right on cue to swing the momentum in United’s favour in the 30th minute.
Harry Maguire dribbled down the right flank as Mikel Jaureguizar floundered in his wake and the defender fizzed a cross into the area, which Manuel Ugarte flicked on for Casemiro to nod home from close range.
The fervent home fans were enraged when Athletic defender Daniel Vivian was sent off for pulling back Rasmus Hojlund and Bruno Fernandes slotted home the resulting penalty.
The United fans high in the top tier were in dreamland moments later as captain Fernandes raced through to put the seal on a victory, and perhaps even the tie, before the interval.
Bilbao, who have the added incentive that the final will be hosted at their own stadium on May 21, could not muster a response in the second half with depleted numbers, leaving United to coast to the most unlikely first-leg success.
“The penalty and the red card conditioned the game. At 11 against 11 we were doing well,” said Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde. “The penalty and the red card was too great a punishment. It’s very clear we have taken a very bad result into the second game but we have to play it. We are not giving up. We know it’s an adverse situation and who we have in front of us.”
FINAL IN SIGHT
Tottenham closed in on a place in the final after Brennan Johnson struck just 38 seconds into their win against Bodo/Glimt —the first Norwegian side to reach a European semi-final.
Johnson’s header, after Pedro Porro’s cross was headed back across the area by Richarlison, and a clever James Maddison finish — Porro the architect again with a long diagonal pass —in the 34th minute put Tottenham 2-0 ahead at the break.
Tottenham struck again in the 61st minute when Fredrik Sjovold’s rash challenge on Cristian Romero was ruled a penalty after VAR intervened.
Dominic Solanke stepped up to send Nikita Haikin the wrong way from the spot.
The buoyant home fans were already dreaming of a likely all-English showdown with United but there was a late twist as captain Ulrik Saltnes’ deflected effort gave Bodo/Glimt hope for next week’s second leg which will take place inside the Arctic Circle.
“The goal was really important. You saw when Tottenham conceded they were really disappointed and lost energy,” Bodo/Glimt boss Kjetil Knutsen said. “It is totally different in the second game. We still have a good opportunity. We are not the favourites but we will go for it.”
CHELSEA HAMMER DJURGARDEN
Goals from Jadon Sancho and Noni Madueke and a brace from Nicholas Jackson gave Chelsea a comfortable win over Djurgarden on a tricky artificial pitch to all but book their spot in the Conference League final in the Polish city of Wroclaw on May 28
Sancho opened the scoring in the 12th minute, taking possession just outside the six-yard box before cutting inside to shoot, and Madueke doubled their lead before the break with a controlled first-time finish.
Jackson made the most of a defensive errors to grab a brace midway through the second period before teenager Isak Alemayehu Mulugeta snatched a consolation for Djurgarden in the 68th minute.
In Andalusia, Betis had a dream start when Abde Ezzalzouli smashed the ball in off the crossbar on six minutes.
Antony got a second for the hosts with a fierce right-footed effort from outside the box in the 64th before Fiorentina halved the lead on 73 minutes when Luca Ranieri slammed home a pull-back.
Published in Dawn, May 3rd, 2025
