Manchester United’s 3-0 victory against Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final clash in Spain may have secured their place in the final.
United thought they had opened the scoring in the first five minutes through Alejandro Garnacho, but he mistimed his run beyond Athletic Bilbao’s defence and was offside.
However, Casemiro scored his first ever Europa League goal on the half-hour mark after Harry Maguire managed to create space and cross from the right touchline into the box.
The night would get better for the English side after Athletic Bilbao were reduced to 10 men and Bruno Fernandes scored a resulting penalty, and the Portuguese then netted his second of the night shortly before half time.
United controlled the second half and significantly limited their hosts, and the two sides will face each other in the second leg at Old Trafford on May 8.
After the turbulence that the Red Devils experienced against Lyon in the quarter-final, boss Ruben Amorim will not take his side’s progression into the final for granted.
In a similar vein, Chelsea took a huge step towards the UEFA Conference League final with an impressive 4-1 victory in Stockholm over Djurgarden.
The visitors opened the scoring after just 12 minutes when Enzo Fernandez picked out Jadon Sancho at the backpost, who had time to compose himself before slotting home from close range. Chelsea dominated in the opening 45 with Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke both coming close.
However, in the closing stages of the first half, Enzo Maresca’s side doubled their lead with a well-worked move. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall played through Fernandez, who then set up Madueke down the right-hand side – allowing the winger to curl the ball into the bottom corner.
Despite a surge of opportunities from Djurgarden at the start of the second half, the Blues added a third with almost an hour played in Sweden. Substitute Nicolas Jackson capitalised on a defensive error from Marcus Danielsson and goalkeeper Jacob Rinne before scoring into an empty net.
Six minutes later, Jackson scored a swift second after an interception from Moises Caicedo allowed the Senegalese international to take a touch before firing home for 4-0. But their four-goal lead didn’t last very long as the home side pulled one back through subsitute Isak Alemayehu.
The result means Chelsea take a three-goal lead back to West London ahead of next week’s second leg which should confirm their place in the final at the end of May.
