Football writer Tom Prentki assesses Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea’s results in their respective UEFA Europa League and Conference League matches on Thursday evening.
It was a perfect night of European football for three English clubs, with the prospect of a Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur final now overwhelmingly likely in the Europa League, following the first legs of their respective semi-finals. Meanwhile, Chelsea have one foot in the Conference League Final after a comfortable away win in their last-four tie with Djurgarden.
Athletic Bilbao 0-3 Manchester United
Man Utd may yet rescue what has been their worst domestic season for 35 years after an emphatic win in Bilbao, where they will hope to return in three weeks’ time to contest the final of the competition.
Ruben Amorim’s side capitalised on Athletic Bilbao being reduced to ten men in the 35th minute, to secure a victory which ought to be enough to see them return to the city where they will likely meet Spurs.
United defender Harry Maguire insisted: “The tie’s not done – we’ll be focused, we’ll be ready next Thursday at Old Trafford. It’s been a great night for us – [we have] one foot in the final.”
After Alejandro Garnacho had a goal disallowed in the fifth minute and Victor Lindelof prevented a certain goal for Bilbao as he blocked Alex Berenguer’s shot on the line, the match swung dramatically in Man Utd’s favour.
Maguire, the hero of one of the most dramatic nights in Old Trafford’s history in the quarter-final second leg against Lyon, crossed for Manuel Ugarte to head the ball to the far post where Casemiro nodded the visitors ahead in the 30th minute.
Their evening soon got better when a lengthy VAR check resulted in Amorim’s side being awarded a penalty, with Bilbao’s Dani Vivian also being shown a red card for hauling down Rasmus Hojlund.
Bruno Fernandes coolly converted the spot-kick to give his side a two-goal advantage on 37 minutes. The captain’s penalty record for Man Utd is now 38 scored from 42 attempts.
Ernesto Valverde made two changes to his side before half-time in an attempt to steady the ship, but it didn’t work and Man Utd were soon 3-0 up. Ugarte provided his second assist with an impudent back heel into the path of Fernandes and the Portuguese again finished unerringly, his seventh goal in as many Europa League games, putting United three goals to the good in the 45th minute.
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It was a consummate performance from the Man Utd skipper who now has 27 Europa League goals, the fourth-most in the history of the competition and 18 assists, the joint highest with Dries Mertens. Fernandes is also the first player to register 30 or more goal involvements in the Europa League’s knockout rounds, with 19 goals and 12 assists in 32 matches.
Only one Premier League player has been involved in more goals across all club competitions this season than Fernandes’ 35 – Mohamed Salah with 56.
There was still time for Noussair Mazraoui to crash a shot against the cross before an extraordinary half of football ended in front of the stunned Bilbao supporters.
The frenetic pace slowed in the second half with both managers making a series of changes, though Man Utd did miss several chances to score a fourth goal.
Nevertheless, Amorim’s side have now scored more goals in their seven Europa League games in 2025, with 19, than they have in their 15 Premier League games this calendar year (18).
Echoing the comments from Maguire, Amorim urged caution ahead of the second leg. He said: “This is not done. They [Bilbao] can do the same thing [to us] at Old Trafford because they are really strong; they are really intense.”
The return leg will be played at Old Trafford next Thursday 8 May with the final back in Bilbao at the San Mames Stadium on Wednesday 21 May.
Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Bodo/Glimt
Spurs have taken a big step closer to ending their 17-year trophy drought with a 3-1 win over Norwegian side Bodo Glimt at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Ange Postecoglou’s side could hardly have been any quicker out of the blocks as Brennan Johnson put them ahead with the fastest goal in the Europa League this season, after just 38 seconds, with Richarlison providing the assist.
“I didn’t realise it was that early,” said Johnson.
“They are a team that build in confidence so we knew that we had to be onto them straight away. Getting the early goal really set the tempo and I thought we started really well.”
Bodo/Glimt did a good job of settling down into the tie after conceding so early but just as they were beginning to regroup, Spurs doubled their advantage.
After missing his first opportunity to score, James Maddison made no mistake with his second chance in the 34th minute as he latched onto a wonderful pass from Pedro Porro and finished low into the far corner with his left foot, in front of watching England manager Thomas Tuchel.
Spurs continued their impressive momentum into the second half and were awarded a penalty in the 61st minute when Fredrik Sjovold caught Cristian Romero. Dominic Solanke made no mistake with the spot-kick and the Spurs fans were left dreaming of their own trip to the Basque Country.
An otherwise perfect night for Spurs was marred slightly by a late goal from Bodo/Glimt captain Ulrik Saltnes who curled a deflected shot into the far corner in the 83rd minute to keep their tie alive.
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There were also concerns on the fitness front, as Solanke and Maddison went off injured, and Lucas Bergvall was seen wearing a protective boot.
But overall it was a positive evening for Postecoglou’s men, with Johnson adding: “If, before the game, you would have said that we’d have a two-goal cushion then we’d be happy with it. We’re pleased.”
Spurs will now travel to Norway for the second leg next Thursday, 8 May on Bodo/Glimt’s artificial pitch at the Aspmyra Stadion.
Djurgarden 1-4 Chelsea
Enzo Maresca remains on course to secure a trophy in his first season in charge of Chelsea with a 4-1 away win in Sweden leaving his side in the driving seat ahead of next week’s second leg at Stamford Bridge.
The head coach described it as “the perfect night”, adding: “This is an important semi-final and it is a good result. We need to be focused on the second leg.”
Nicolas Jackson came off the bench at half-time to score twice and take the tie away from Djurgarden. The striker said: “It was a very good performance, the most important thing is that we won. It is one step forward and we hope to reach the final.”
Chelsea had to contend with an artificial pitch at the 3Arena which Djurgarden’s own manager Jani Honkavaara described as “horrible” ahead of kick-off.
Maresca’s side soon made light work of it though, Jadon Sancho giving them an early lead in the 12th minute after the Blues had struggled to get to grips with the surface in the opening minutes.
Chelsea had suffered their first defeat in the competition as they lost at home to Legia Warsaw in the quarter-final second leg, but they were not taking their trip to Sweden lightly as Noni Madueke swept in their second goal, finishing powerfully into the corner after good work from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall two minutes before half-time.
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Just after the break, Adam Stahl’s header brought a brilliant save from Filip Jorgensen as the team currently placed 11th in Sweden’s top tier, Allsvenskan, emerged with renewed purpose after the break.
But the home side’s hopes were extinguished on 59 minutes when Djurgarden goalkeeper Jacob Rinne made a calamitous hesitation as he rushed from his goal, allowing Jackson to nip in and stroke the ball into an empty net to score his 11th goal of the season.
Four minutes later, substitute Jackson then scored his second and Chelsea’s fourth goal of the game with a wonderful strike into the top corner which gave Rinne no chance.
The flurry of goals continued on 68 minutes and finally there was a special moment for the Djurgarden supporters as Isak Alemayehu headed past Jorgensen to score.
There was time for a special moment for Chelsea midfielder Reggie Walsh too, as the 16-year-old came off the bench in the 88th minute to make his debut for the club.
The second leg will be played at Stamford Bridge next Thursday 8 May, with the final to take place at the Stadion Miejski in Poland on Wednesday 28 May.