Manchester United vs Athletic Club facts

Manchester United have one foot in the UEFA Europa League final as they welcome Athletic Club at Old Trafford holding a 3-0 lead after the first match in Bilbao.

The Spanish side – who had won six out of six at their home ground in this season's competition prior to the first leg – fell behind to Casemiro's header after half an hour at San Mamés on 1 May. Five minutes later centre-back Daniel Vivian was sent off for a foul on Rasmus Højlund, Bruno Fernandes converting the resulting penalty and adding his second goal and United's third before half-time to leave Ruben Amorim’s side well placed to return to Bilbao on 21 May for what would be their third appearance in a Europa League final.

 Previous meetings 

Manchester United wins 2
Athletic Club wins 3
Draws 0
Manchester United goals 12
Athletic Club goals 10

1956/57 European Cup quarter-finals
Athletic Club 5-3 Manchester United
Manchester United 3-0 Athletic Club
A second-leg victory overturned United's first-leg defeat to qualify for the semi-finals. United's home match was played at Manchester City's Maine Road ground due to a lack of floodlights at Old Trafford.

2011/12 Europa League round of 16
Manchester United 2-3 Athletic Club
Athletic Club 2-1 Manchester United
Athletic were 5-3 aggregate victors, second-half goals from Fernando Llorente and Óscar de Marcos helping the Spanish team win at Old Trafford before a home victory sealed their progress.

Form guide

Manchester United

Record vs Spanish clubs: W24 D28 L25 F99 A96
Home record vs Spanish clubs: W15 D14 L12

United are unbeaten in their last four home meetings with teams from Spain, all in the Europa League knockout stages including in this season's round of 16 when they beat Real Sociedad 4-1 in the second leg to secure a 5-2 aggregate victory.

Their last European semi-final against Spanish opposition was in this competition in 2019/20 when they lost 1-2 to Sevilla in a one-off tie in Cologne.

The English side finished third in the league phase with five wins and three defeats, making them the only team to remain unbeaten. That led them to a round of 16 tie against Real Sociedad, a 1-1 draw in Spain followed by a 4-1 home victory in which Fernandes scored a hat-trick.

United's quarter-final with Lyon was their 28th in UEFA competition, a new English record; they previously shared the mark with Liverpool. This is their 18th semi-final appearance; they have won eight and lost nine of the previous 17 ties.

This is their fourth appearance in the semi-finals of the Europa League; they have won two and lost one of their previous three. They never featured in the final four of the UEFA Cup.

The Manchester club have won 14 of their last 15 two-legged ties in the Europa League, the exception a 2-5 aggregate quarter-final loss to eventual winners Sevilla two seasons ago.

The Red Devils have progressed on all 20 previous occasions they won the away first leg of a UEFA competition tie away. The first leg was the first time they have triumphed by a three-goal margin.

United have lost just one of their last 24 Europa League matches (W16 D7) and are the only team that remain unbeaten in this season's competition with eight wins and five draws from their 13 games.

Only one of the Red Devils' last 67 European games have finished goalless.

Fernandes is now the joint-third highest scorer in Europa League history with 27 goals. He is level with Romelu Lukaku and behind only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (34) and Radamel Falcao (30).

Fernandes is joint-top goalscorer in this season's competition on seven goals alongside Ayoub El Kaabi of Olympiacos and Bodø/Glimt's Kasper Høgh.

United parted ways with manager Erik ten Hag at the end of October, replacing him with Ruben Amorim on a contract until June 2027.

United's record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W1 L3:
4-5 v Videoton, 1984/85 UEFA Cup quarter-final
3-4 v Torpedo Moskva, 1992/93 UEFA Cup first round
6-5 v Chelsea, 2007/08 Champions League final
10-11 v Villarreal, 2020/21 Europa League final

Athletic Club

Record vs English clubs: W5 D4 L8 F21 A29
Away record vs English clubs: W1 D1 L6

Prior to the first leg, Athletic's 2012 meetings with United were the last time they faced English opposition.

Their 3-2 victory at Old Trafford was the first time they had beaten English opposition in England, having lost six and drawn one of their previous seven in the country.

Athletic – who are appearing in UEFA competition for the first time in six years – finished second in the league phase (W6 D1 L1) to set up a round of 16 tie against 2023 runners-up Roma. After a 2-1 loss in Italy, the Spanish side triumphed 3-1 in Bilbao thanks to two goals from Nico Williams and one from Yuri Berchiche to progress 4-3 on aggregate.

Their quarter-final success against Rangers means the Basque club have reached a UEFA competition semi-final for a third time. They have won each of their previous two, beating Molenbeek on away goals in the 1976/77 UEFA Cup following a 1-1 aggregate draw and Sporting Clube de Portugal 4-3 on aggregate (1-2 a, 3-1 h) in the 2011/12 Europa League.

The 2012 Europa League runners-up have won nine of their last 12 two-legged European ties.

Athletic have won one and lost one of their two UEFA competition ties when losing the first leg at home. However, both instances have been when trailing by a single-goal margin; the Basque side have never previously lost a home first leg by three goals.

Ernesto Valverde's team have won eight of their 13 Europa League matches (D2 L3) this season, although they are without a win in their last three away games (D1 L2).

The Bilbao club finished fifth in La Liga last season, their best league position in eight years, and ended a 40-year wait for silverware with a penalty shoot-out victory against Mallorca in the final of the Copa del Rey.

Athletic's record in two UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W0 L2:
3-5 v CFR Cluj, 2005/06 Intertoto Cup second round
4-5 v Sevilla, 2015/16 Europa League quarter-final

Links and trivia 

Athletic defender Óscar De Marcos is the only player from either side who featured when these sides met in the 2011/12 Europa League round of 16. The 36-year-old scored in both legs of Athletic's 5-3 aggregate victory.

Casemiro played in Spain with Real Madrid for ten seasons. He played 14 times against Athletic, scoring once.

Born in Madrid, Alejandro Garnacho came through the youth ranks at Getafe (up to 2015) and Atlético de Madrid (2015–20) before joining United in 2021.

André Onana spent his youth career at Barcelona (2010–15, having loan spells at lower-league sides Cornellà (2012/13) and Vista Alegre (2013/14) before joining Ajax in 2015.

Has played in England:
Yuri Berchiche (Tottenham 2007–10, Cheltenham 2009 loan)