Athletic Club vs Manchester United LIVE
Manchester United have one foot in the Europa League final after beating Athletic Club 0-3 at the Estadio San Mames. They sturggled in the opening exchanges, with Bilbao enjoying some early chances but failing to finish before Casemiro headed home to open the scoring on the half-hour mark.
The remainder of the first half became another instalment of the Bruno show, as the captain coolly dispatched a penalty and added United’s third shortly before the break. Dani Vivian was sent off for his involvement in the penalty, pulling Rasmus Hoijlund back to deny a clear goalscoring opportunity, leaving United with a three-goal and one-man advantage in the second half, which they completed in professional fashion.
The San Mames Stadium was tonight’s venue, and it will also play host to the Europa League final later this month. United fans can go ahead and book their travel already, as it will take a miracle for Athletic Club to turn the tie around at Old Trafford next week. Follow the game LIVE below with our dedicated match blog, featuring expert insight and analysis.
Athletic Club vs Man United latest news
- Kick off | 8pm, San Mames Stadium
- GOAL! Maguire provides stunning assist
- RED CARD! Vivian sent off
- GOAL! Fernandes doubles United's lead
- GOAL! Fernandes puts the tie to bed early
FULL TIME: Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:56 , Arthur FerridgeThat will be that. Three behind and a man down before halftime, Bilbao were always going to be up against it, but they never posed any great threat in the second half.
It is, of course, only the mid point of the tie, but it is Bilbao with something to prove.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:5390+4mins: Athletic Club look to finish on a high as Gomez manages to get a header goalwards, but it is far from threatening.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:48 , Arthur Ferridge88mins: That could have been four for United! Fernandes shoots over from close range.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:46 , Arthur Ferridge85mins: Amad Diallo is the latest substitute to be introduced, marking the end of his injury absence.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:42 , Arthur Ferridge81mins: Fernandes wins the ball high up the pitch and shoots from range, forcing a good save from the keeper. Casemiro fires a cross in from the rebound, but it is a half-second ahead of the charging Garnacho.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:38 , Arthur Ferridge77mins: Mason Mount makes his first notable contribution to the match as he is booked for a foul on Sannadi.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:36 , Arthur Ferridge75mins: Luke Shaw comes on for United.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:30 , Arthur Ferridge69mins: Inaki Williams’ turn to go down in the box in what I believe is the fourth penalty shout of the night, and the third of the half?
The referee waves it away.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:26 , Arthur Ferridge65mins: Mount and De Ligt come on for Ugarte and Maguire.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:25 , Arthur Ferridge64mins: Casemiro nearly adds a second! He is totally unmarked at the front post and heads Fernades’ corner off the post.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:22 , Arthur Ferridge61mins: Garnacho gets clattered by a frustrated Yeray Alvarez, who will be booked.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:19 , Arthur Ferridge58mins: The VAR check is over, no foul given, but a booking for dissent is brandished in the direction of the Athletic Club bench.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:18 , Arthur Ferridge57mins: Maguire takes down the last man, Sannadi, but once again, a non-call from the referee.
Some questioning looks both on and off the pitch.
VAR investigates...
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:14 , Arthur Ferridge53mins: Garnacho goes down in the box and looks to have been tripped, but the referee isn’t having it! Remarkable - looked nailed on for another pen.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:11 , Arthur Ferridge50mins: The referee gets in the way of proceedings, and Bilbao players are less than impressed.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:09 , Arthur Ferridge48mins: United don’t show any sign of slowing. They are enjoying all the possession and seem content to pass around Bilbao, tire them out, and cruise through to the finish.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
21:07 , Arthur FerridgeWe are back underway for the second half. Can Bilbao recover, or will it be more of the same?
HALF TIME: Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
20:52 , Arthur FerridgeBruno’s brace and Casemiro’s header mean this match is all but tied up with just 45 minutes of the 180 played!
The fans in the stands sound... bitter. And they are directing much of that angst at the referee, unsurprisingly.
But regardless, United have done well to turn this tie around after a tough opening 15 minutes.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
20:51 , Arthur Ferridge45+4mins: Mazraoui rattles the bar! United started poorly, but have been relentless in the last few minutes.
Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
20:51 , Arthur Ferridge45+4mins: Hoijlund very nearly makes it four! Bilbao need that halftime break stat!
GOAL! Athletic Club 0-3 Man United
20:48 , Arthur Ferridge45mins: That, really, should be that. Fernandes adds another to make it three goals to nil. They could not have asked for a better first half.
Terribly clumsy defending from Athletic Club before Ugarte hits a tidy backheel into the area. Bruno runs onto it and is one-on-one with Agirrezabala. He doesn’t miss those from there.
Athletic Club 0-2 Man United
20:44 , Arthur Ferridge43mins: Oscar De Marcos and Berenguer come off for Gorosabel and Paredes.
Athletic Club 0-2 Man United
20:43 , Arthur Ferridge41mins: Ernesto Valverde takes the initiative after going a man down, he has two subs lined up already!
Athletic Club 0-2 Man United
20:42 , Arthur Ferridge41mins: Inaki Williams lashes a shot well wide from some range. Bilbao seem to have lost their heads very slightly here, but they need a goal ASAP to stay in this tie, otherwise they might find themselves atop a very slippery slope.
GOAL! Athletic Club 0-2 Man United
20:3937mins: Bruno, totally nonplussed by the whistles and jeers from the home support, dispatches the pen into the bottom right corner.
PENALTY! Athletic Club 0-1 Man United
20:37 , Arthur Ferridge35mins: Penalty given! And it is a red card for Dani Vivian, who is adjudged to have pulled Hoijlund off the ball as he looked to latch onto Mazraoui’s cross. It is clear denial of a goalscoring opportunity, to be fair.
A disastrous few minutes for the hosts, who are a man down and a goal down, with a penalty to come. They cop a pair of yellow cards for dissent, too.
Athletic Club 0-1 Man United
20:36 , Arthur Ferridge34mins: It does not look good for Bilbao, you have to say.
Athletic Club 0-1 Man United
20:35 , Arthur Ferridge33mins: VAR investigating...
Athletic Club 0-1 Man United
20:34 , Arthur Ferridge32mins: United pour forward again and Hoijlund is down in the box, but the referee doesn’t seem interested.
GOAL! Athletic Club 0-1 Man United
20:33 , Arthur Ferridge30mins: Casemiro heads home to open the scoring! And what on Earth was Harry Maguire doing in the buidlup?
The big man spun Jauregizar effortlessly, cutting back and forth to leave him for dead before playing a cross into the box, which was tipped on to Casemiro at the back post to head home.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:31 , Arthur Ferridge29mins: Dorgu gets the better De Marcos and gets two hands in the back as his thanks. Somehow, the Spaniard gets away without a booking.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:29 , Arthur Ferridge27mins: Berenguer finds another bit of space and drives at goal, swinging a deep cross into the box which is just slightly overhit.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:27 , Arthur Ferridge24mins: Fernandes plays a nice cross into the box, but it is well dealt with by Bilbao. who counter but fail to offer much threat.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:25 , Arthur Ferridge23mins: Mazraoui’s turn to hit the deck under dubious levels of contact, now. Six fouls already from Athletic Club.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:23 , Arthur Ferridge22mins: United are presented a free kick in the centre of the pitch, about 40 yards out. Fernandes floats a cross into Maguire, but he can’t get it under control.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:21 , Arthur Ferridge19mins: A heroic block from Lindelof denies Berenguer’s shot. Fantastic work from the United defender. Athletic Club looking dangerous, though...
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:19 , Arthur Ferridge18mins: Inaki Williams breaks forward but this cross is cut out by Casemiro.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:16 , Arthur Ferridge15mins: Maguire dispossesses the attacking Sannadi and is fouled for his troubles.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:13 , Arthur Ferridge11mins: Athletic Club go close! Inaki Williams slips in behind and gets on the end of his brother’s sumptuous cross, but heads just slightly over.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:11 , Arthur Ferridge9mins: Garnacho is looking pretty lively, but thus far Berchiche is equal to him.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:10 , Arthur Ferridge8mins: Great effort from Berenguer! He forces a good save from Onana from well outside the box.
Fernandes clears the resultant corner behind for a second corner. The follow up corner is headed behind by Berchiche.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:08 , Arthur Ferridge6mins: An oddly long VAR check for what looked to be a cut-and-dry offside, but the goal is not given and we play on.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:07 , Arthur Ferridge5mins: Garnacho has it in the back of the net out of nowhere, but the flag is up.
That goal came from nothing! A narrow offside lets Athletic Club off.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:06 , Arthur Ferridge4mins: Fernandes is tripped and goes down in a heap for the first foul of the day. Don’t worry, though, he’s ok to continue. Surprise, surprise.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:05 , Arthur Ferridge3mins: Maguire heads the corner away for Galaretta to fire goalwards, but his bouncing effort does not trouble Onana.
Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:04 , Arthur Ferridge2mins: A scrappy start here as Bilbaop make a half-hearted foray forward and are dispossessed, though United can’t hold onto the ball either. Dorgu puts the ball behind for a corner.
KICK OFF! Athletic Club 0-0 Man United
20:02 , Arthur FerridgeAfter an attempted moment of silence in memory of the late Pope Francis, we are underway!
The players are out...
19:56 , Arthur FerridgeKick off is mere moments away!
And the stadium looks gorgeous - there is a display covering all four stands with red and white stripes, and we have plenty of song to match. Spectacular effort.
Just ten minutes to kickoff
19:50 , Arthur FerridgeNearly time to get underway!
Around the grounds
19:44 , Arthur FerridgeThere is plenty of other European action going on tonight.
Tottenham are hosting Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt in the other Europa League semi-final, while Chelsea visit Sweden’s Djurgardens in the Conference League.
You can follow both matches with Standard Sport! Find the Spurs blog HERE, and the Chelsea blog HERE.
The brothers Williams
19:40 , Arthur FerridgeIt is something you don’t tend to see terribly often, but Athletic Club are unique in that they regularly start brothers Inaki, 30, and Nico Williams, 22, on either wing.
The pair lifted the Copa del Rey together last season, in Bilbao’s first triumph in the competition since 1984.
Inaki helped to raise Nico, the younger brother going on to become something of a phenom in Spain. He is fast approaching 30 caps for Spain, playing a key role as they won last summer’s Euros, and already boasts 40 career goals.
In an interesting link to the Premier League, the Williams’ father used to work the turnstiles at Stamford Bridge, home of Chelsea.
Ruben Amorim: We should be judged by the Premier League
19:36 , Arthur FerridgeRuben Amorim echoes the sentiment of Ange Postecoglou as he says a European trophy will not paper over the cracks of such dismal domestic seasons.
I doubt many fans will complain quite so much if United lift the Europa League come the end of the season, though.
A big test for Noussair Mazraoui
19:24 , Arthur FerridgeThe 27-year-old will line up at right wing back, meaning he will be opposite Nico Williams, a quick, tricky winger.
He has shown in the Premier League this year that he will not shy away from a duel, but he will have his work cut out for him as he tries to keep the face of Athletic Club quiet.
United's unique away strip
19:16 , Arthur FerridgeUnited’s away kit will look slightly different tonight. They will line up in the navy-blue change shirt which we have seen pretty regularly this season, though they will sport white shorts (officially considered to be ‘clear onyx’ in colour).
This is to avoid a clash with both Athletic Club’s red-and-white-striped shirt and black shorts.
The fans are out in force
19:06 , Arthur FerridgeShould be one heck of an atmosphere tonight...
The scenes in Bilbao are spectacular 😍 pic.twitter.com/2sOGZS1owM
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 1, 2025
What to make of the lineups
18:58 , Arthur FerridgeThere are no major shocks in either squad.
Ugarte returns to the midfield for United, while the returning De Ligt and Diallo return to the bench.
Valverde opts for experience at full back, giving the nod to Berchiche and De Marcos.
Athletic Club confirmed XI
18:49 , Arthur FerridgeHow the hosts line up...
Athletic Club confirmed XI: Agirrezabala; Yuri, Yeray, Vivian, De Marcos; Galarreta, Jauregizar; Williams Jr, Berenguer, Williams; Maroan
Subs: Simon, Gorosabel, Paredes, Vesga, Djalo, Guruzeta, Nunez, Lekue, Unai, Prados, Canales, Adama
Man United Confirmed XI
18:46 , Arthur FerridgeAmorim plays his hand.
Man United confirmed XI: Onana; Lindelof, Mazraoui, Maguire; Dorgu, Casemiro, Ugarte, Yoro; Fernandes, Garnacho; Hoijlund
Subs: Bayindir, Heaton, Amass, De Ligt, Fredricson, Kamason, Shaw, Eriksen, Mainoo, Mount, Amad, Mantato
Team news next...
18:40 , Arthur FerridgeLineups are just around the corner!
What did Amorim say prematch?
18:34 , Arthur FerridgeAmorim shared a lot of team news in his prematch presser.
On Diallo and De Ligt, he said: "To start, no, but they can be on the squad for the game and the rest of the players."
On Diogo Dalot, he said: "There is that possibility but I don't know, we will check week by week, because he works really hard, he can recover quite well, so we will see.”
Head to head
18:25 , Arthur FerridgeUnited and Athletic Club do not play each other often. Quite the opposite.
Tonight’s meeting will be just the fifth between the two sides, and the first since 2012, which Bilbao won 5-3 over two legs.
Before that, they hadn’t played one another for 55 years, meeting in the 1956-57 European Cup. United came out on top in that tie, winning 5-6 on aggregate.
Man United wins: 1
Athletic Club wins: 3
How could United line up?
18:16 , Arthur FerridgeTeam news isn’t particularly far away from release now. Here’s how United might line up:
Man United predicted XI: Onana; Yoro, Maguire, Shaw; Mazraoui, Ugarte, Casemiro, Dorgu; Garnacho, Fernandes; Hojlund
Athletic Club's route
18:08 , Arthur FerridgeAthletic Club finished second in the league phase, exactly one point ahead of United despite losing heavily away to Besiktas. Wins over Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbache, Ludogorets, and AZ Alkmaar ensured their progression, though.
Things have not been so convincing since. They drew Roma in the round of 16, winning 4-3 over the two legs, before beating Rangers by just two goals to nil in the quarter-finals.
With the final being hosted at Athletic Club’s home stadium, they will have motivation aplenty to beat United tonight.
Man United's route
18:01How did we get here?
United finished third in this year’s new-look league phase, one point behind tonight’s opponents. They opened their run with three straight draws, but followed them up with five straight wins over Paok, fellow semi-finalists Bodo/Glimt, Viktoria Plzen, Rangers, and FCSB.
They beat Real Sociedad rather comfortably over two legs 5-1, before pulling out that win over Lyon in the quarter-finals, with the highest-scoring period of extra time we may ever see.
If you want to get yourself excited for today’s match, the highlights from that second leg (also United’s most recent win) would not be a bad place to start.
Standard Sport's prediction: Will United lead into the home leg?
17:50 , Arthur FerridgeShort answer, no. Long answer...
Athletic will come into this match with a healthy defence and a weakened front line. United come into it with a relatively strong defence and a misfiring attack. These factors will likely combine for a low-scoring match.
Athletic Club will want to lead into the second leg at Old Trafford, but that will be easier said than done.
Draw, 1-1
Latest Athletic Club team news: Williams returns
17:45 , Arthur FerridgeIn a huge boost for Athletic Club, winger Nico Williams will be available for selection, having recovered from an ankle injury.
But in a knock equally significant to the Williams boost, top-scorer Oihan Sancet will miss out, having struggled throughout this campaign with a recurring hamstring issue.
Man United team news: De Ligt and Diallo return
17:40 , Arthur FerridgeMatthjis de Ligt and Amad Diallo have both made the travelling squad for the first time in weeks, as does Altay Bayindir.
Toby Collyer is still unavailable, though, alongside Diogo Dalot, Joshua Zirkzee and Lisandro Martinez.
Three academy products have made the plane, too, in Tyler Fredricson, Bendito Mantato and Jaydan Kamason.
How to watch Athletic Club vs Man United
17:35 , Arthur FerridgeAthletic Club vs Man United will be broadcast live on TNT Sports and the Discovery+ app and website. Coverage begins at 7pm.
You can also follow along right here with Standard Sport’s live blog.
When does Athletic Club vs Man United kick off?
17:30 , Arthur FerridgeAthletic Club vs Man United kicks off at 8pm BST at San Mames Stadium, Bilbao.
Good evening
17:23 , Arthur FerridgeHello, and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Athletic Club vs Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League.
In the midst of a historically poor season, can Ruben Amorim still deliver United to a cup final? Tonight, we will get half an answer to that question.
