[Archive 2012-03-18] Football: Both Manchester teams out of Europe as Bilbao and Sporting profit

Historical archive — originally published 2012-03-18. This report records what was known on that date. It is not current news; subsequent events may have changed the situation. Wikinews closed in May 2026.

They might be occupying first and second place in the Premier League back in England, but Manchester United and Manchester City were defeated following the second legs of their respective UEFA Europa League ties.

Manchester United went into their game against Athletic Bilbao seeking to overcome a 3–2 deficit dealt in the first leg; they were soundly defeated.

Bilbao began the game strongly, immediately pressing United and looking to attack whenever possible. The English side were the first to strike, with left midfielder Ashley Young's early shot needing a block to stay out. Iker Muniain saw his 14th minute shot strike a post, and Óscar de Marcos miss the rebound, as Bilbao worked to break United's defence down.

The opener came on 23 minutes, with young Spaniard Fernando Llorente converting from Fernando Amorebieta's lobbed through ball after completely fooling the United back four. The game ended early for Llorente, as he was forced off the pitch after an injury.

The Manchester side picked up their game in the second half; they were continually thwarted by the host's defences. Bilbao remained at their high tempo to prevent any sort of response, and soon full back Andoni Iraola knocked wide after an impressive run.

Bilbao's lead was doubled on 65 minutes as de Marcos converted from a floated cross by Iraola from the right, and the club never looked like slipping up throughout the rest of the game. Wayne Rooney, playing as a lone striker for United, finally gave his club's fans their money's worth with ten minutes left to play as he hit home from long range.

It was surely a humbling defeat for a team pushing to beat their city rivals to their domestic title, inflicted by seventh-placed Bilbao of La Liga. It means that for only the first time in ten years, Manchester United have failed to reach a cup final.

Portugal's Sporting Club had beaten Manchester City 1–0 at home, and only needed to consolidate that result in Manchester. The hosts put up a spirited fightback in the closing minutes; it was not enough to avoid elimination.

A slow first half from a full-strength City side meant they were easily contained by the visitors, and indeed Sporting were first to test the goalkeeper. Xandão's header early on was a sign of things to come for City, and they opening the scoring on 33 minutes with a free kick taken directly by Matías Fernández.

Just seven minutes later the Manchester team were beaten again, as Marat Izmailov set up a pinpoint cross allowing Dutchman Ricky van Wolfswinkel to tap in a close-range finish and make it 3–0 on aggregate.

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Text adapted from Football: Both Manchester teams out of Europe as Bilbao and Sporting profit by Wikinews contributors under CC BY 2.5. Paragraphs have been selected and abridged, and formatting adjusted. Contributor history.