Exciting Night Of Triumph For English Teams
- Man United, Tottenham make waves in Europa
- Chelsea excel in Conference League
With the flattering 3-0 first-leg semi-final score line against Athletic Bilbao Club on Thursday, Manchester United now have one foot in the door of this year’s Europa League final.
The Ruben Amorim’s men were on the driver’s seat when Casemiro broke the deadlock in the 30th minute, firing United into the lead with a superb header past Julen Agirrezabala.
After Athletic Club were reduced to 10 men following Dani Vivian’s sending off only five minutes after Casemiro’s opener, Captain fantastic Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty two minutes after that dismissal and then completed his brace ahead of half-time.
It was a disciplined performance by United at the San Mames Stadium as they comfortably held onto their 3-0 lead over Athletic in the second half.
The Europa League is crucial to United’s 2024-25 season and offers Amorim major silverware and a route back to the Champions League for the 2025-26 campaign.
Tottenham Best Bodo/Glimt 3-1
On their part, Tottenham Hotspur are chasing more than a trophy as they also aim to reach the Europa League final this season.
Like Manchester United, they are also one step away from the final and there’s more than silverware on the line. With a disappointing Premier League campaign threatening to derail their season, the Europa League has also become Tottenham’s best shot at redemption.
The North London side now fancy their chances of reaching the final after beating Norwegian underdogs Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in the first leg of their last-four tie on Thursday night.
Ange Postecoglou eased some of the pressure on himself after guiding his team to victory on a memorable evening in north London, with Spurs likely to face Manchester United in an all-English showdown later this month after the Red Devils smashed Athletic Club in Bilbao.
With not even a minute on the clock, Tottenham went in front. Yves Bissouma won the ball back high up the pitch, which allowed Pedro Porro to cross to the back post, where Richarlison nodded it back across for Brennan Johnson to poach home.
After racing into the early lead, they rarely looked back, building up a solid advantage heading into next week’s return leg
This advantage was doubled shortly before the break, with Bodo/Glimt undone by one straight ball over the top. Porro picked out the run of James Maddison, who brought it down neatly and swept in.
On the hour mark, Spurs were awarded a penalty after a VAR check, with Fredrik Sjovold judged to have fouled Cristian Romero with a kick to the calf when challenging for a lose ball. Dominic Solanke, the hero of the quarter-final triumph over Eintracht Frankfurt, stepped up and rolled the ball into the bottom corner with a stutter-step.
Bodo/Glimt managed to pull one back with under 10 minutes remaining. Some exquisite trickery from Ulrik Saltnes allowed him to get a yard of separation from Rodrigo Bentancur, and his effort bobbled up past Guglielmo Vicario into the net.
Tottenham kept their visitors from advancing and further reducing the deficit as they held on to ensure they head to Norway next Thursday with a two-goal cushion
Conference League: It’s Djurgarden 1 Chelsea 4
Chelsea completed the exciting night of triumph for English football as they steam-rolled Swedish side, Djurgårdens IF 1-4 away from home.
It was Nicolas Jackson, the super sub-striker’s lethal double that puts the Blues on brink of Europa Conference League final. Jadon Sancho and Noni Madueke were the other goals’ scorers on Thursday to put the Blues on the cusp of another European final
Chelsea’s number nine was lethal off the bench as Enzo Maresca’s wingers proved their worth in a commanding Conference League semi-final performance.
Djurgarden pulled a goal back when Isak Alemayehu headed down into the ground and beyond Jorgensen in the 68th minute to send the home fans into raptures.
As the game wore on, the scores should have read 4-2 but Stahl missed a sitter from six yards out with the goal at his mercy.
