Penalty, red, surprise: United takes apart Bilbao cauldron in 15 minutes

Penalty, red, surprise United takes apart Bilbao cauldron in 15 minutes 01.05.2025, 23:02

This was unexpected: Manchester United dominated the Basque cauldron of Bilbao and, thanks to 15 truly impressive minutes, secured a clear victory in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final. An English final beckons, as Tottenham Hotspur also beat Norway's surprise team, Bodø.

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are heading for an all-English Europa League final. Manchester United won the semi-final first leg at Athletic Bilbao 3-0 (3-0) and, like Spurs, can look forward to the final on May 21 in Bilbao. The Londoners defeated the Norwegian surprise team FK Bodö/Glimt 3-1 (2-0).

Manchester made it clear within 15 minutes: First Casemiro scored (30th minute), then Bilbao's Daniel Vivian was sent off for a last-minute foul (36th minute), before captain Bruno Fernandes converted the resulting penalty (38th minute) to make it 3-0 (45th minute).

United is thus facing its first European final since 2017, when the Red Devils also triumphed in the Europa League. For Athletic, however, the dream of a final in their own stadium has already been dashed.

Third English final?

League rivals Tottenham also have the best chances ahead of the return match next Thursday. Against underdogs Bodö/Glimt, who became the first Norwegian team to reach a European semifinal, Brennan Johnson scored after just 40 seconds, James Maddison (34'), and Dominic Solanke scored from the penalty spot (61'). Ulrik Saltnes, who had already scored twice in the quarterfinal against Lazio, reduced the deficit for Bodö (83').

The only previous all-English finals in the Europa League or its predecessor, the UEFA Cup, were in 1972 (Tottenham - Wolverhampton) and 2019 (Chelsea - Arsenal).