Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will meet in the Europa League final May 21, after both sides sealed wins in their semifinal ties Thursday.
Spurs beat Bodo/Glimt 2-0 in Norway, and United came from behind for a 4-1 win over Athletic Club in their respective second legs to put further gloss on the final aggregate scorelines after both teams came in with the advantage from the first legs.
The results sets up a final that features two teams from England for the third time in Europa League and UEFA Cup history, after Chelsea beat Arsenal in 2019 and Tottenham prevailed over Wolves in a two-legged affair in 1972.
The final will be played at San Mames, the Basque Country home stadium of Athletic Club where United secured a shock 3-0 win in the first leg of the semifinal.
The deciding match for Europe’s second-tier competition will give Man United and Tottenham the chance to end their less-than-stellar seasons — both teams are in the bottom half of the Premier League — with a trophy and a spot in the 2025-26 edition of the Champions League.
United came back from 1-0 down against Athletic Club, with Mason Mount coming off the bench to score twice in the second half. Casemiro and Rasmus Hojlund were also on target to end the tie 7-1 on aggregate.
“It was too long [waiting for a night like that],” Mount said. “I carried on going, working hard in training every day and tried to stay positive and when I had an opportunity to try to make an impact.
“Today it paid off and I came on and affected the game. It was a tight game when I came on, I just tried to calm it down.”
Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro struck for Tottenham who finished off Nowegian side Bodo/Glimt by an aggregate score of 5-1.
“In this moment, I am just worried about the next game, trying not to get injuries for the final,” said United manager Ruben Amorim after the match. “We need to win it. If we don’t win it, it means nothing for us.”
Former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, now in charge of Spurs, could even make good on his boast earlier this season that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club.
“We’ve given [the fans] some hope, something to dream about, and [an] exciting trip coming up,” Postecoglou said. “We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing.”
Tottenham have beaten Man United three times so far this season, twice in the league and also in the Carabao Cup.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
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