By Victor Kanayo
After a dramatic night of football action, English Premier League strugglers Manchester United will now face Spanish La Liga side Athletic Bilbao in the semi-final stage of this season’s Europa League.
Another Premier League club, Tottenham, will face Bodo/Glimt of Norway.
That Red Devils’ Drama
United’s place in the last four was made possible after they came from 4-2 down in extra time to beat Lyon 5-4 in a remarkable Europa League quarter-final.
Overall, the Red Devils progressed 7-6 on aggregate on Thursday night.
United’s season looked over when Lyon came from 2-0 down to lead by two goals with just six minutes remaining at Old Trafford, despite having captain Corentin Tolisso sent off.
However, a Bruno Fernandes penalty, Kobbie Mainoo’s strike and Harry Maguire’s header capped a stunning finale to set up a semi-final meeting with Athletic Bilbao.
The Red Devils sit 14th in the English top flight, and defeat would have almost certainly meant missing out on European football entirely next season.
Instead, they are just three games away from a European trophy and the lifeline of direct access to the riches of the Champions League next season.
United’s history is built on dramatic late fightbacks, but few have been more remarkable than this, leaving Lyon shell-shocked.
Onana Return to Goal
Goalkeeper Andre Onana’s return for United met with some criticism.
The Cameroonian had been dropped for Sunday’s 4-1 thrashing at Newcastle after two costly errors that led to both of Lyon’s goals in last week’s 2-2 first-leg draw.
Those mistakes came after a war of words with former United midfielder Nemanja Matic, who labelled him “one of the worst goalkeepers in United’s history.”
The 29-year-old rewarded his manager’s faith with a couple of important stops to prevent Lyon levelling through Paul Akouokou and Cherki.
For Tottenham Hotspur, they overcame Eintracht Frankfurt to secure a spot in the semis with a narrow and dramatic 1-0 win.
Conference Fixtures
Meanwhile, Chelsea will travel to Stockholm to take on Djurgarden in the first leg of their Conference League semi-final tie before welcoming the Swedish club to Stamford Bridge for the second leg.
The Blues will take on Djurgarden over two legs at the start of May.
The Swedish side defeated Austria Vienna 4-2 on aggregate following their 4-1 victory tonight. They had lost 1-0 in the first leg in Stockholm last Thursday.
Chelsea sealed a spot in the last four with a 4-2 aggregate success over Legia Warsaw.
