Category: UEFA Europa League

• Manchester United lead 3-0 in Europa League semi-final
• ‘Sometimes … something happens and we lose our mind’

Ruben Amorim admits Manchester United “can lose their minds” during games so is unsure how they will perform in Thursday’s Europa League semi-final second leg against Athletic Bilbao, despite holding a 3-0 lead.

United are favourites to reach this month’s final at the San Mamés after their victory there last week thanks to Casemiro’s header and two goals from Bruno Fernandes. In the previous round’s return leg at Old Trafford they allowed a 2-0 advantage over Lyon to become a 4-2 deficit before scoring three goals in the final seven minutes of extra time to secure passage to the last four. United also led Lyon 2-1 in the first leg but conceded a 95th-minute Rayan Cherki equaliser.

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• Supporter with spare ticket took the bait over offer
• Around 50,000 supporters vying for just 480 seats

A Norwegian bartered five kilos of semi-dried fish for a ticket to Thursday’s semi-final clash between Bodø/Glimt and Tottenham in the Arctic Circle, as the hosts aim to become the first Norwegian club to reach a European final.

Some 50,000 fans were vying for just 480 remaining tickets to the second leg of Bodø/Glimt’s Europa League semi-final.

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Spurs produced a (fairly) authoritative performance to earn a two-goal first-leg advantage against Bodø/Glimt

“If any Spurs fans are thinking of heading to north Norway to sample the atmosphere for the second leg (I assume tickets are long gone), I can confirm that the (12-hour) train journey north from Bergen is absolutely stunning, the highlight of an interrail trip to the arctic circle last year,” writes Stuart Jenkinson, as the referee orchestrates the pre-match coin toss. “Every other house/ apartment was sporting a Bodo/glimt flag, as was the local peak, but unfortunately no home games in the short time we were there.”

The players have joined them, and they’re on their way out! One end of the ground is displaying the Spurs club motto by means of holding up black and white plastic sheeting. Flags wave everywhere. One corner is very, very yellow.

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Manchester United have one foot in the final after a commanding display against 10-man Bilbao

3 min: … but nothing comes of it, Ruiz De Galarreta attempting a shot from distance that bounces apologetically through to Onana.

2 min: Bilbao on the front foot quickly. Nico Williams makes good down the left and looks for his brother Inaki at the far stick. Dorgu is forced to turn it behind for the first corner of the game.

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The Ghana international on how recent successes and his club’s feeling and culture fuel hope for their semi-final with Manchester United

Iñaki Williams, the fastest footballer in town, is accelerating again. The more the images come, the quicker he goes, flying through faces, flashbacks and feelings, everything they did and can still do. “It’s madness,” he says, eyes sparkling, the words chasing each other out, emotion building. And then the Athletic Bilbao winger pauses and laughs. “The other day they came to do tests. The cardiologist started to talk about it. He says: ‘That was wonderful; wow, the gabarra …’ And just him mentioning it, on the screen you saw my heart beating faster.”

The gabarra is a barge. Only that’s not all: there is something almost mythical about it, like a legend passed through generations. In an expression of Athletic’s identity, another idiosyncrasy of a unique club, the club’s trophies are celebrated by pulling the gabarra up the Nervión river with the players on board, or so they had been endlessly told, black and white pictures adorning the walls of seemingly every bar. Then, last April, they finally saw it for themselves, Williams leading them on board holding the Copa del Rey. It was the first time in 40 years. More than a million fans lined the river to see it: there were more people with them in Bilbao than live there.

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• Tottenham face Bodø/Glimt in semi-final first leg
• ‘It hurts me a lot that we’re having a poor season’

James Maddison wants to reward Tottenham’s long-suffering supporters by winning the club’s first trophy since 2008 and has said a dismal Premier League campaign has made the players more determined to succeed in the Europa League.

Spurs host the Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt in the first leg of the semi-final on Thursday after suffering a record-equalling 19th league defeat at Liverpool on Sunday. Although Spurs have reached this stage of the Europa League for the first time since they won its predecessor, the Uefa Cup, in 1984, they have beaten only Southampton in the Premier League since the end of February and are on course for their lowest finish since its formation in 1992.

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• Spurs won in Germany to reach Europa League semis
• Goalkeeper admits team have ‘suffered a lot this season’

Guglielmo Vicario believes Tottenham showed their true colours as they progressed to the Europa League semi-finals and admitted they had “suffered a lot” during an otherwise disappointing season.

A first clean sheet since the 16 February 1-0 win against Manchester United, who Spurs could meet in next month’s final if they beat Athletic Bilbao, helped overcome Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1 on aggregate thanks to Dominic Solanke’s penalty. Ange Postecoglou’s side face the Norwegian side Bodø/Glimt as Spurs attempt to make up for an underwhelming Premier League campaign by claiming their first trophy since 2008.

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• ‘I was watching the 1999 documentary … A great night’
• United score three goals in extra time to progress in Europa League

After Manchester United scored three times in the last seven minutes of extra time to knock Lyon out and progress to a Europa League semi-final versus Athletic Bilbao, Ruben Amorim stated he had drawn on the 1999 Champions League final triumph over Bayern Munich.

Losing 1-0 going into added time goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær claimed European glory for United 26 years ago.

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Manchester United unveiled a giant tifo that declared “Never Gonna Stop”, then did precisely this by knocking out 10-man Lyon in an electrifying end to extra time that ranks second in the club’s pantheon of late, late continental finishes.

For those here the drama of minutes 114-120 (+34 seconds) will never be forgotten. At this juncture United had gone 4-2 down to a Rayan Cherki strike and an Alexandre Lacazette penalty (on 104 and 109 minutes) that had the French side leading 6-4 on aggregate and apparently dumping Ruben Amorim’s men out of Europe.

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United looked like exiting the Europa League meekly before pulling off one of the great comebacks

2 min: A little smoke from the pre-match pyro party still floating about. A couple of early touches for Onana. Casemiro has the opportunity to send Dorgu into space down the left but overcooks the pass and clanks it out for a throw.

A blast of John Denver, then Lyon get the ball rolling, with the aggregate score 2-2 after the first leg. The hosts are kicking towards the Stretford End in this first half.

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Tottenham played well, created chances, tested the keeper and speckled the woodwork but could not beat Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League

4 mins: A pretty wild first few minutes, but Spurs have sensibly slowed the pace down with a long spell of not-very-adventurous possession.

2 mins: Chelsea have already wrapped up a handy away win in the first leg of their Conference League quarter-final. Here’s a report:

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André Onana was at fault for both Lyon goals as Rayan Cherki’s stoppage-time strike cancelled out what looked to be a late winner from Joshua Zirkzee

It sounds like a number of Man Utd supporters are struggling to make it to the ground in time for kick-off. I’m sure we’ll hear more about that after the game.

Lyon will be missing their young wingers Ernest Nuamah and Malick Fofana when they host Manchester United on Thursday, which is a huge blow given their penchant for attacking down the flanks. The good news for Paulo Fonseca is that he will be able to call upon Rayan Cherki and Thiago Almada to carry out the attacking duties either side of Corentin Tolisso, with Georges Mikautadze leading the line.

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Lyon’s manager reflects on his nine-month domestic ban for confronting a referee and his Europa League hopes against Manchester United

“This kind of motivation can make miracles,” says Paulo Fonseca as he describes the glint in his Lyon players’ eyes before the visit of Manchester United. It is a clash of two giants who have lost their way – although something, at least, is stirring in France’s second city. They have won eight of their 11 games since Fonseca’s arrival less than two and a half months ago and that tells only part of a story with little precedent.

The Europa League quarter‑final first leg on Thursday will be a rare opportunity for Fonseca to do what he enjoys best: manage his team from the technical area, cajoling and tweaking from the sidelines. Early in March he was given a nine-month ban from domestic games for aggressively confronting the referee Benoît Millot towards the end of a win against Brest. He is barred from the dugout and from communicating with his bench until 30 November, but will be allowed access to the dressing rooms and tunnel area from 15 September. Recent Ligue 1 matches have been taken in from the press box. Uefa-run fixtures offer relief and he is still getting his head around a suspension with a duration which could have jeopardised his career.

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• Manager in spiky mood before visit of Frankfurt
• Claims critics ‘turn gold into crap when it’s Tottenham’

Ange Postecoglou has said the media believes he will be sacked even if ­Tottenham rescue their season by winning the Europa League.

The manager, who accused critics of always trying to “turn gold into crap”, was in spiky mood before his side hosts the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final against ­Eintracht Frankfurt and has clearly taken note of the talk over his future. ­Postecoglou has talked about ignoring external noise but he responded to a question about ­wanting to prove people wrong by picking out a reporter who wrote that success in Europe would not save the Australian’s job.

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• Onana said Manchester United were ‘way better’ side
• Keeper bites back that Matic won nothing with United

Nemanja Matic has described André Onana as one of the worst goalkeepers in Manchester United’s history after the Cameroonian claimed his team were far better than Lyon.

In an escalating row before the players face one another in the Europa League quarter-final opening leg at Lyon on Thursday, Onana responded by pointing out that Matic had won nothing as a United player from 2017 to 2022.

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