Europa League: Tottenham dominate Bodo Glimt and Manchester United beat Athletic Bilbao

Will the Europa League final be 100% British ? The two English clubs in the last four of the competition shone on Thursday, May ^1st , in the first leg of the semi-finals. Tottenham easily defeated Bodo Glimt, the Norwegian Tom Thumb (3-1), in London, while Manchester United went to beat Athletic Bilbao (3-0) at home at the San Mamès stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur dominated their game like rarely before this season, buoyed by a high-flying atmosphere in their North London home ground and aided by the fragility of an opponent with far more limited resources. Forwards Brennan Johnson ( ^1st minute), James Maddison (34th ^minute ) and Dominic Solanke (61st ^minute ), from the penalty spot, delighted the fans.

"I don't think the score reflects our dominance tonight, but we have to accept it. We're still in a very good position" ahead of the return leg, played in Norway on an artificial pitch, commented Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou. "We've obviously had a difficult season, but the European nights this year have been very special. They [the fans] played their part tonight," applauded the Australian.

Having beaten Twente, Olympiacos, and Lazio, the Norwegians were without two suspended starting midfielders, including former Lens player Patrick Berg, and had three fewer substitutes than their opponents on the bench at kickoff. They also had more than 60,000 hostile fans at their backs at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, more than the population of Bodo.

The match began in a disastrous manner for the two-time reigning Norwegian champions, who were overwhelmed in their attack, somewhat naive defensively, and punished by a header from Johnson less than forty seconds after kickoff. James Maddison doubled the lead after controlling a long ball beautifully and then unleashing a cross-shot that sailed between the goalkeeper and two defenders.

Norwegian goalkeeper Nikita Haikin made a fine save from Rodrigo Bentancur's volley (38th ^minute ), but was powerless to stop Cristian Romero's penalty, which Solanke converted. Bodo captain Ulrik Saltnes reduced the deficit with a neat dribble in the box followed by a shot that deflected off an opponent (83rd ^minute ), to keep alive a faint hope of qualification before the return leg on May 8 in Norway.

This goal is "very important" for the return match, said Bodo coach Kjetil Knutsen. At home, "we will have opportunities, we are not the favorites, but we will fight."

In the other semi-final first leg, Manchester United beat Athletic Bilbao at their San Mames ground. The Red Devils, who only have Europe to save their season, found themselves with a man advantage in the ^35th minute after defender Dani Vivian was sent off harshly for obstructing Danish striker Rasmus Hojlund.

The English club were put on the right track by the Brazilian Casemiro ( ^30th ) and carried by a double from their Portuguese captain Bruno Fernandes ( ^37th from penalty, ^45th + 4). The Mancunians, ultra-realistic, took advantage of the opponent's defensive largesse to open the score against the run of play, while the Basques had just created the best chances ( ^7th , ^11th , ^19th ), before collapsing following the disputed penalty awarded to Hojlund and the red card of Vivian.

This situation, reviewed by video refereeing, provoked anger and incomprehension among the Bilbao players and staff, who demanded, in vain, a handball from the Argentinian Alejandro Garnacho at the start of the action.