United, Spurs to Battle for Europa League Glory; Chelsea Reach Conference League Final

Alex Keble discusses the key talking points as all three Premier League clubs win semi-final second-leg ties to reach 

All three Premier League clubs have progressed through to their respective finals, setting up an all-English UEFA Europa League final between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur and leaving Chelsea the favourites to win the UEFA Europa Conference League.

For Spurs and Chelsea the task proved relatively straightforward in the end, but for Man Utd it was yet another epic cup game at Old Trafford defined – as it so often seems to be – by tension, nerves, and a spectacular finish.

Man Utd 4-1 Athletic Club (agg 7-1)
A dazzling cameo from Mason Mount will be remembered at Old Trafford for years to come.

A Cruyff turn, a brilliant low curling effort into the far corner, and in two touches substitute Mount had put Man Utd into the Europa League final.

His 72nd-minute strike, equalising the tie on the night, was the start of an impressive turnaround that ended, wonderfully, with Mount scoring a 91st-minute strike from the halfway line to complete a 4-1 victory on the night and 7-1 on aggregate.

Fans inside Old Trafford had been starting to worry after Mikel Jauregizar’s opener and some increasingly one-sided football, but a smart triple substitution from Ruben Amorim turned the tide, and by the time Casemiro added a second after 80 minutes Athletic – valiant in defeat – were already beaten.

Rasmus Hojlund’s third goal – a tap-in after great work from Amad with five minutes remaining, scored amid olés from the crowd – was so simple you could be forgiven for thinking this match had been a walk in the park.

It most definitely had not.

Man Utd seemed to be in control of the tie as we approached the half-hour mark, but out of nothing the mood darkened.

After 31 minutes a long punt forward saw the ball drop to Harry Maguire who, after losing the first header, passed the ball carelessly into open grass. Alvaro Djalo’s initial shot was blocked before Mikel Jauregizar fired a wonderful curling effort into the top corner from 20 yards.

Old Trafford was shell-shocked, Amorim began to prowl his dugout like a caged tiger, and all of a sudden the looseness of United’s performance – the pockets of space opening between the lines – felt more like an ominous prelude of things to come.

Athletic raced out of the blocks in the second half, pinning United into their own third to announce their intention to pull off a minor miracle in Manchester.

It wasn’t long before Bruno Fernandes began yelling instructions, before brows furrowed, before messiness crept into their game and Athletic began to ease through the thirds like we were back in late-stage Erik ten Hag.

Enter Mount, the forgotten man.

Injuries have restricted Mount to just 15 starts in all competitions over the last two seasons at United, and so it goes without saying this was the highlight of his United career so far.

It might even launch a revival, a renaissance of the kind this club desperately need; a major trophy, and Champions League qualification, could be transformative for Amorim.

He knows a big summer rebuild is to come and yet with Luke Shaw, Amad, and Mount all impressing off the bench, he will feel renewed confidence this evening that Man Utd’s fringe players can be like new signings next year.

Mount in particular dazzled, revelling in the limelight. His performance in particular left Man Utd fans believing this most bizarre of seasons could end in a major high – and a moment of rebirth.

Bodo/Glimt 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur (agg 1-5)
Spurs coped admirably with the tricky conditions in Norway, carefully swerving a banana skin with a 2-0 victory that put Ange Postecoglou’s side within one win of major silverware, Champions League qualification, and mission accomplished for 2024/25.

It’s an extraordinary situation in which to find themselves considering Spurs’ lacklustre performances in the Premier League, and yet their Europa League campaign continues to showcase a completely different side of this team.

The contrast is stark, and never more so than on Thursday night, when Postecoglou – supposedly wedded to an all-out Plan A – oversaw a competent, battling, and conservative performance on the artificial pitch to deliver a pretty dull game.

Dull is exactly what Spurs wanted.

In the first half, the visitors pressed very effectively to shut Bodo/Glimt down and limit the hosts to just a couple of half-chances, and indeed conjured a few of their own opportunities by winning the ball high, including a Pedro Porro freekick that was tipped over the bar by goalkeeper Nikita Haikin.

But chances were limited at either end and that continued into the second period – until Dominic Solanke’s 63rd-minute goal, from a Spurs corner, changed the mood.

Bodo/Glimt had to up the tempo and push forward in numbers, but this only created more space for Spurs to counter-attack.

Six minutes after the first, a break fell to Porro on the right wing and his cross looped in off the far post; a stroke of luck, but the sort they had earned with a mature performance few thought this Postecoglou team could deliver.

But they did. Spurs, like Man Utd, sense something special; sense a cup final victory that would completely redefine a disappointing season and – just maybe – launch the team in a whole new direction.

Chelsea 1-0 Djurgarden (agg 5-1)
You can’t win anything with kids – except maybe the Conference League.

A Chelsea team studded with academy players – including Reggie Walsh, who at 16 years and 200 days old became the youngest player to ever play for Chelsea in Europe – eased past Swedish side Djurgaarden to reach their first European final since they were Champions League winners in 2020/21.

A procession was always expected after the 4-1 first leg victory and, after a slow start, Chelsea duly delivered.

In the 38th minute two straight passes cut Djurgaarden open in the blink of an eye, a surge of energy after what had been a sluggish half seeing Tyrique George play in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to fire a low shot in off the post.

In one play, in two crisp passes, the tie was done.

Chelsea have strolled through this competition and are now strongly placed to win silverware in Enzo Maresca’s debut year – which would be good news for a few Premier League clubs.

Victory for Chelsea would change seventh – or eighth, if Manchester City win the FA Cup – from a Conference League to a Europa League spot. The whole Premier League benefits from tonight’s result.

Premierleague.com