Manchester United, trained by Portuguese Ruben Amorim, and Tottenham are preparing to secure a 100% English European Football League final when they face on Thursday Athletic Bilbau and Bodo/Glimt, respectively, in the second leg of the semi-finals.
The second European Club race is a true board of salvation for both clubs, sunk in subordinate positions in the English League, and the results of the first confrontation open excellent perspectives to both: Red Devils won in Spain 3-0 and the ‘Spurs’ imposed at home to Norwegian 3-1.
Bruno Fernandes Featured
Portuguese international Bruno Fernandes was primarily responsible for the unexpected triumph in Bilbau – for the dimension he hit – scoring two goals, in the 37th minute, and at 45, after the Brazilian Casemiro opened the scoring at 30.
The midfielder is one of the best markers of the race, with seven goals, equal to Danish Kasper Hogh (Bodo/Glimt) and Moroccan Ayoub Kaabi (Olympiacos), and it is in it that fans deposit the highest expectations for United to repeat the only title in the Europa League, reached in 2016/17, under the technical command of Portuguese José Mourinho.
For Athletic, the dream of erecting the first European title at home at San Mamés stadium on May 21 will have been smoky at 35 minutes from the first leg of the socks, when Dani Vivian was expelled to commit a penalty about Dane Rasmus Hojlund, paving the way to a seemingly irrecoverable defeat.
The conquest of the Europa League brings with it a valuable bonus, the presence in the next edition of ‘Champions’, and if for Athletic Bilbau this does not even seem relevant, as it occupies fourth place in the Spanish Championship, for Ruben Amorim’s team is invaluable.
Manchester United has been experiencing the worst season since the creation of the Premier League, in which it occupies the 15th place, and the best one can aspire is to finish the championship in the 12th, far from the places of access to European competition and even more than the Champions League.
Tottenham Search Third Title
Tottenham is in an identical situation, plunged into the 16th position of the English League, only two above the release zone (but, like the ‘red devils’, with no possibility of falling there), and will only save the time with a third title in the race, reissuing the hits at the 1971/72 and 1983/84 predecessor.
The first -hand triumph, with goals from Brennan Johnson, in the first minute, James Maddison, at 34, and Dominic Solanke, at 61, in a great penalty, leave the ‘Spurs’ in a good position for the second clash with Bodo/Glimt, which he surrendered in the fight for the goal of Ulrik Saltnes at 83.
Tottenham will also be alerted to the opponent’s performance, the first Norwegian team to reach this phase in a European race that defeated FC Porto (3-2) and Sporting Braga (2-1) in the new phase of Liga and eliminated Lazio, first classified in this mini-championship. The title will be discussed among English teams (the first took place in the inaugural edition, in 1971/72, with a Spurs victory over Wolverhampton) and 11th among clubs in the same country, one of which was exclusively Portuguese, in 2010/11, with FC Porto triumph over Sporting Braga, 1-0.
