Manchester United surged to the brink of the Europa League final on Thursday night, delivering a commanding 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of their semifinal clash at the San Mamés Stadium. In a high-stakes encounter brimming with emotion and intensity, United struck three times in the first half to silence a fervent home crowd and seize firm control of the tie.
The hosts, buoyed by the dream of contesting a European final on home turf on May 21, began brightly. But United, despite a dismal domestic season, found their rhythm and ruthlessly punished their Spanish opponents. Casemiro opened the scoring on 30 minutes, ghosting in at the back post to finish off a sweeping move and stun the San Mamés faithful.
Just five minutes later, disaster struck for Bilbao. Defender Daniel Vivian was sent off after a VAR review confirmed he had fouled Rasmus Højlund in the box. Bruno Fernandes stepped up and calmly converted the penalty amid a chorus of deafening whistles. The United captain struck again moments later, latching onto Manuel Ugarte’s flick and slotting in a third goal before halftime to put the Premier League side in complete command.
“Of course, it’s a great start, to get a victory here and score three goals and with a clean sheet,” said United defender Harry Maguire to TNT Sports. “All the pressure will be on us, everyone will be expecting us to go through. We need to prepare properly, and if we do that we’ll give ourselves a great chance. One foot in the final, but it’s not done.”
Reduced to ten men, Bilbao struggled to respond after the break, despite early energy that had seen Inaki Williams and others threaten. United’s defensive line, led by Victor Lindelof, held firm and preserved the clean sheet. Casemiro nearly added a fourth with a header that struck the post, but by then, the damage was done.
Remarkably, United has now scored more goals in the Europa League (under coach Ruben Amorim) than in the Premier League in 2025. They remain unbeaten in European competition and have shown a stark contrast in form compared to their league campaign.
History heavily favours United moving forward—teams that have won the first leg of a UEFA Cup or Europa League knockout match by three or more goals away from home have progressed in all 133 previous instances.
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