Manchester United and Tottenham both took huge strides towards reaching the Europa League final with semi-final first-leg wins on Thursday.
United won 3-0 at Athletic Bilbao, who incidentally host the final on 21 May, while Tottenham saw off Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in London.
United’s 3-0 win over Athletic, who sit fourth in La Liga, was hugely impressive – and they will hope home advantage next week means they will get over the line.
The winners of the Europa League go into the following season’s Champions League, regardless of where they finish domestically.
So a United v Spurs final would guarantee them a return to the mega-riches of European football’s top table.
That rule is handy for United – who sit 14th – and Spurs – who are 16th – both more than 20 points behind fifth place.
