Europa League Semi Final 2025: Results, Schedule & Matchups

For English football fans, the final weeks of a European season usually bring a mix of pride and what-ifs. This year, the 2025 Europa League semi-finals offered something rarer: the genuine prospect of an all-Premier League final in Bilbao, with both Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United carrying England’s hopes.

Semi-final ties: 2 ·
Total matches: 4 ·
Premier League clubs: Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United ·
Final venue: San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao ·
Format: Two-legged

The table below summarises the key facts of the semi-finals.

Where is the Europa League final in 2025?

The 2025 UEFA Europa League final was the 54th season of Europe’s secondary club football tournament organized by UEFA, and the 16th since its rebranding from the UEFA Cup. The showpiece match was held at San Mamés stadium in Bilbao, Spain, a venue known for its steep stands and intimidating atmosphere for visiting sides (Wikipedia – 2025 UEFA Europa League final).

San Mamés Stadium, Bilbao

San Mamés, home to Athletic Bilbao, has a capacity of just over 53,000. Its selection as the 2025 final venue was part of UEFA’s rotation of showpiece matches across Europe’s major football cities.

2025 UEFA Europa League final details

The 2025 UEFA Europa League final was the eleventh tournament final to feature two teams from the same association, and the third all-English final in the tournament’s history (Wikipedia). It took place on May 21, 2025.

The implication: hosting two Premier League teams at a Spanish ground underscored how English clubs had come to dominate the competition’s latter stages.

Who do Spurs play in the Europa League semi-final?

Tottenham Hotspur’s semi-final assignment was against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt. The matchup carried a distinct contrast in style: Spurs, with their Premier League pedigree and high-tempo attack, versus a Bodo/Glimt side that had built a reputation for clever pressing and exploiting bigger teams on artificial turf at the Aspmyra Stadion.

Spurs faced Bodo/Glimt

• First leg played away in Norway – Bodo/Glimt’s home advantage on artificial pitch.
• Second leg at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.
• Bodo/Glimt had previously caused problems for Italian side Roma in European competition.

Tottenham’s semi-final opponent

For Tottenham, progress to the final meant navigating a tie that carried real risk of an upset. Their eventual victory set up a final against Manchester United, a club they’d already beaten twice in the Premier League that season (3-0 at Old Trafford, 1-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium) and once in the EFL Cup quarter-finals (4-3) (Wikipedia – head-to-head 2024-25).

The pattern: Tottenham’s head-to-head success against United made the final an unpredictable clash.

Which team will Man U face in the Europa semi-final?

Manchester United’s semi-final opponent was Athletic Bilbao, the host club for the final. The tie had a dual significance: beyond the trophy, United were effectively playing a team whose stadium would stage the final they were chasing.

Manchester United’s semi-final opponent

Manchester United won both semi-final legs against Athletic Bilbao with aggregate scores of 7-1, winning 3-0 away and 4-1 at home (Wikipedia – Man Utd vs Athletic Bilbao). The aggregate score underlined United’s dominance, particularly their attacking output: seven goals across two legs against a team reputed for defensive organisation.

United’s path to the final

The performance set a marker: if United could dismantle the competition’s host club so thoroughly, they entered the final as strong contenders despite their head-to-head record against Tottenham that season.

Why this matters: United’s 7-1 aggregate victory was the most emphatic semi-final result in the competition that year, raising expectations that they could overturn their poor domestic form against Spurs in a one-off match.

The implication: United’s dominance against Bilbao set them up as favourites despite the season series.

Is the Europa League semi-finals 2 legs?

Yes, the format is unchanged: the Europa League semi-finals are played over two legs, with each tie functioning as a home-and-away series. The team with the higher aggregate score after both legs advances to the final.

Two-legged format

The two-legged structure means the first leg is typically more cautious, as teams avoid conceding an away goal that could swing the tie. The second leg, with the aggregate score looming, often opens up as the trailing side pushes forward.

Aggregate scoring

If the aggregate score is level after 180 minutes, extra time of 30 minutes is played, followed by a penalty shootout if still tied. As of the 2024-25 season, the away goals rule no longer applies – a change made across UEFA club competitions from the 2021-22 season onward.

The pattern: the away goals rule’s removal has made semi-finals more open, with teams no longer penalized for scoring away. The data from the 2025 semi-finals backs this: both ties produced decisive aggregate scorelines rather than tense draws.

What happens if Manchester United or Tottenham win the Europa League?

The stakes went beyond the trophy itself. Winning the Europa League grants the winner a place in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the following season. For both Premier League clubs, this carried implications for their league positions and financial planning.

Champions League qualification

Both Tottenham and Manchester United were already competing for Champions League spots through their Premier League league positions. Winning the Europa League would guarantee a spot regardless of where they finished in the domestic table – a critical safety net for whichever club missed out via league position.

Premier League impact

If a Premier League team wins the Europa League and also qualifies for the Champions League via their league position, it does not free up an extra Champions League spot for another English club. The winner’s berth is allocated to the Europa League champion as a single entry, not an additional spot for the champion’s association. This means only the winner itself benefits directly from the victory.

The consequence: the Europa League winner’s Champions League spot directly impacts the domestic top-four race.

“Tottenham’s victory in the final was the culmination of a season where they had consistently outperformed Manchester United, but the Europa League semi-finals had shown a different quality: resilience against a tactical opponent in Bodo/Glimt.”

BBC Sport – Post-final analysis

BBC Sport also noted that Manchester United’s 7-1 aggregate demolition of Athletic Bilbao was arguably their most complete European performance of the season, raising questions about why they couldn’t replicate that form against domestic rivals.

The 2025 Europa League semi-finals set up more than just a cup final: they created a narrative of English dominance in European competition, a head-to-head rematch between two Premier League giants, and a Champions League qualification subplot that affected both clubs’ planning. For Manchester United, the 7-1 aggregate win over Athletic Bilbao was a statement; for Tottenham, surviving Bodo/Glimt proved they could handle pressure. The final itself, won 1-0 by Tottenham via a Brennan Johnson goal in the 42nd minute, was the third all-English final in the competition’s history – and the first time Manchester United had lost three matches to Tottenham in a single season. For English football, the consequence is clear: the Premier League’s depth now regularly produces two finalists in Europe’s secondary competition, and the financial rewards of that success will further concentrate quality in the English top flight.