The rescue act is on for Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Big wins for both teams in the Europa League semifinals on Thursday kept alive their hopes of lifting a major trophy and qualifying for the Champions League — salvaging their respectively woeful seasons in the process.
United beat Athletic Club 3-0 at San Mames in Spain with Bruno Fernandes leading the way with a pair of goals and Tottenham won 3-1 at home against Norwegian club Bodo/Glimt as Brennan Johnson, James Maddison and Dominic Solanke all on the scoresheet.
The second legs will be played next Thursday, with United hosting Athletic Club at Old Trafford Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs away to Bodo/Glimt.
Both United and Spurs have endured miserable domestic campaigns and are languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League. But European club soccer’s second-tier Europa League could yet see one of them salvage their season.
Tottenham are looking for a first UEFA Cup/Europa League final appearance since winning the title in 1983-84 and first final in the UEFA Europa League era. Spurs made the Champions League final in 2018-19, losing to Liverpool.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
