UEFA Europa League Archives

Sevilla dump ‘unacceptable’ Man United out of Europa League

SEVILLE: Manchester United crashed out of the Europa League in shambolic fashion on Thursday with Sevilla beating them 3-0, to reach the semi-finals 5-2 on aggregate.

The record six-time winners thoroughly outplayed Erik ten Hag’s side, who repeatedly shot themselves in the foot again, having scored two own goals in the first leg.

Harry Maguire, guilty of one of those calamitous moments, endured another as he gave the ball away on the edge of his own area and Youssef En-Nesyri pounced to break the deadlock early on.

Loic Bade headed home the second from a corner in the first minute of the second half, with Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side meriting their advantage, which they defended adroitly.

En-Nesyri rolled home his second goal into an empty net after United goalkeeper David de Gea put the ball on a plate for him, with home fans rejoicing on an electric night at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.

Sevilla will face Italian giants Juventus in the semi-finals after the Old Lady beat Sporting Lisbon 2-1 on aggregate.

Ten Hag criticised his “unacceptable” team, saying they lacked spirit compared to their opponents.

“We have to be better, it’s not about playing skills, it’s about character, to be composed and have desire and passion — they had more willingness to win and it can’t be, I think that’s unacceptable,” the coach told reporters.

“Even though they are a great team and the ambience was also great, with a lot of positive energy in the stadium, we have to deal with it, we have to do better.”

Ten Hag started with Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw on the bench with the duo on their way back from injury.

With the stadium rocking, Sevilla threw themselves into the game with great intensity and were swiftly rewarded by Maguire.

With Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane injured, Ten Hag had no choice but to start with the Englishman at centre-back alongside Victor Lindelof.

Maguire rolled the ball back to goalkeeper De Gea and called to receive it again from the Spanish goalkeeper, seemingly nonplussed about the three Sevilla players buzzing around him.

As Maguire tried to pass the ball, former Tottenham winger Erik Lamela intercepted it and En-Nesyri took charge of the situation and stroked it past De Gea at his near post.

United tried to fight back but created few chances of note, shorn of suspended playmaker Bruno Fernandes.

Sevilla thought they had netted a second goal when Lucas Ocampos rammed home to ignite the Pizjuan again but VAR showed a tight offside against Marcos Acuna in the build-up.

The hosts looked every bit the Europa League experts their outstanding record illustrates, rather than their domestic version, battling relegation.

– ‘Football is simple’ –

Ten Hag threw on Shaw and Rashford at the break, but Sevilla started the second half just as they ended the first, on the front foot, and Bade immediately steered home a looping header from Rakitic’s corner.

Back on home soil, De Gea might have done more to keep out Bade’s effort, with some also criticising him for his role in Sevilla’s opener — worse was yet to come.

Anthony Martial, who made no impact on loan at Sevilla last season, made way for Wout Weghorst, as Ten Hag turned to Plan B.

However Sevilla killed the game with 10 minutes remaining when De Gea ran out of his box and mishit an attempted clearance, and Morocco international En-Nesyri took full advantage to stroke home.

“The truth is I’m very happy for the two goals, and because of the fans — I’ve never seen an atmosphere like this in my life,” En-Nesyri told Movistar after his brace.

Sevilla’s Europa League adventure is the highlight of their campaign, with the Andalucians 13th in Spain, eight points above the relegation zone.

Mendilibar is unbeaten in five games across all competitions since being appointed to replace Jorge Sampaoli, adopting a back-to-basics approach.

“Football is simple, I don’t want to make things complicated for the players,” said Mendilibar.

“Adopting the most simple way to play, the players see they can play like this.”

United must pick themselves up to play in the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton at Wembley on Sunday.

READ: PAK vs NZ T20I: Persistent hailstorm washes out fourth T20I

Sporting beat Arsenal in Europa stunner, Man Utd, Juve advance

SEVILLE: Sporting Lisbon sent Arsenal crashing out of the Europa League with a penalty shoot-out triumph after Pedro Goncalves’s stunning equaliser, while Manchester United and Juventus eased into the quarter-finals on Thursday.

Sporting trailed when Granit Xhaka put Premier League leaders Arsenal ahead at the Emirates Stadium.

But Portugal midfielder Goncalves forced extra-time when he caught out Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale with a breathtaking strike from 46 yards out.

With reality television star Kim Kardashian and her Arsenal fan son Saint among the spectators, the match ended level at 1-1 on the night and 3-3 on aggregate, requiring penalties to settle the tie.

Sporting emerged with a shock 5-3 victory in the shoot-out as Gabriel Martinelli’s effort was saved by Antonio Adan and Nuno Santos dispatched the winning kick.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said the result was “a huge blow” and blasted his side for wasting chances.

“There were moments in the first 75 minutes where we weren’t at our level. We gave every ball away and we didn’t have the capacity to take the game,” the Spaniard said.

“There were chances to win it in extra-time. There was a lot of uncertainty with the pens. It was a very difficult game.”

It was a far calmer night for Manchester United as Marcus Rashford’s swerving strike from distance earned a 1-0 win at Real Betis and a 5-1 aggregate success.

Joaquin hit the post for Betis and Juanmi spurned two clear chances for the hosts as they started well, desperately trying to overturn their three-goal deficit at the lively Benito Villamarin stadium.

However Rashford’s brilliant goal early in the second half killed off the tie.

“Once you score the first goal the game is gone, and they don’t have the belief anymore,” said Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag.

“That is another step (forward) we made mentally, a winning attitude, to deal with that.”

– Juventus advance with ease –

Three-time champions Juventus earned a 2-0 win over 10-man Freiburg to progress 3-0 on aggregate, with goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa.

Juventus, leading Freiburg by a goal from the first leg, thought they had taken the lead when Vlahovic struck from close range, but it was ruled offside by VAR.

The Serbian forward then broke the deadlock just before the break from the penalty spot after Manuel Gulde handled in the box and was shown his second yellow card.

With Juventus fully in control and Freiburg at a numerical disadvantage, the tie was as good as over and Chiesa wrapped up the win late on.

Sevilla, the record six-time winners of this competition, suffered a nervy 1-0 defeat at Fenerbahce as Enner Valencia netted from the spot, but still qualified 2-1 on aggregate.

Jorge Sampaoli’s Sevilla, struggling badly in La Liga, suffered defeat in Turkey but had done enough at home to progress against Fenerbahce and continue their charge.

Michy Batshuayi went off injured for the hosts early on, damaging their comeback bid, but Jorge Jesus’s team took the lead when Alex Telles handled in the box.

Veteran Ecuador striker Valencia drilled home his 24th goal of the season for Fenerbahce.

Sevilla held out to progress despite pressure from the hosts in the second half, as they looked for a second goal to force extra-time.

Feyenoord thrashed Shakhtar Donetsk 7-1 on the night at De Kuip to progress to the last eight 8-2 on aggregate.

Jose Mourinho’s Roma drew 0-0 at Real Sociedad to advance 2-0 on aggregate, while Bayer Leverkusen won 2-0 at Ferencvaros to clinch a 4-0 aggregate success.

In the UEFA Conference League last 16, Fiorentina thrashed Sivasspor 4-1, triumphing 5-1 on aggregate, but fellow Serie A side Lazio were knocked out, losing 2-1 at AZ Alkmaar on the night and 4-2 on aggregate.

West Ham thrashed AEK Larnaca 4-0 to complete a 6-0 aggregate stroll, with Anderlecht beating Villarreal 2-1 on aggregate after a 1-0 victory in Spain.

READ: Shadab Khan calls himself ‘King’ Babar’s ‘Wazir’

United into Europa League last 16 as Juve, Roma move on

Manchester United edged out Barcelona to reach the Europa League last 16 on Thursday where they were joined by fellow heavyweights Juventus and Roma.

After the first leg of their play-off ended 2-2 in Spain, United got the better of Barcelona at Old Trafford to progress 4-3 on aggregate with Antony securing the winner.

Robert Lewandowski’s early penalty had given Barca the perfect start but La Liga leaders were again undone with the step up to the European stage as Fred levelled early in the second period.

Antony then delivered his biggest moment since arriving in Manchester from Ajax.

United are riding the crest of a wave in Erik ten Hag’s first season in charge as the Red Devils remain in the hunt for trophies on four fronts.

United could end a six-year wait for silverware when they face Newcastle in the League Cup final on Sunday.

But they left nothing in reserve to secure their biggest European scalp since dumping Paris Saint-Germain out of the Champions League last 16 in dramatic fashion in 2019.

United are now unbeaten at Old Trafford in 18 games dating back to September.

“Very good to hear my name from the fans but it was a good game we played today,” said Fred.

“We need to keep going. We have a final on Sunday and now we have to change our mind to go to the final.”

Former United star Angel di Maria scored a hat-trick as Juventus reached the next stage with a 3-0 second leg win over Nantes.

The result allowed the Italian giants to progress 4-1 on aggregate.

Argentine World Cup winner Di Maria opened the scoring after five minutes and then added a 20th-minute penalty.

Di Maria completed his hat-trick in the 78th minute, in a game where the French side had been reduced to 10 men after just a quarter of an hour when Nicolas Pallois was red-carded for handball.

“After we were knocked out of the Champions League, some people might have thought the Europa League would be a walk in the park for Juventus, but it is not that simple,” said Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri.

“This was an important match, but it was not perfect. We still have work to do. There were things I was not happy with this evening.”

Jose Mourinho’s Roma also made it to Friday’s last 16 draw as a 2-0 win overturned a one-goal deficit from the first leg against Salzburg.

Andrea Belotti and Paulo Dybala scored in a seven-minute first-half spell to secure the win.

Six-time champions Sevilla went down to a 2-0 defeat to PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands but progressed 3-2 on aggregate.

Luuk de Jong and Fabio Silva hit late goals for the Dutch team who had Mauro Junior sent off in stoppage time.

Sporting Lisbon were also amongst the winners, a 4-0 victory at Midtjylland in Denmark sealing a 5-1 victory.

Union Berlin, who are riding high in the Bundesliga, defeated Ajax 3-1 after the first leg had ended goalless last week.

Robin Knoche, Josip Juranovic and Danilho Doekhi scored the goals which gave Union a first ever win in the Europa League knockout stages.

READ: Brook, Root centuries put England in charge of New Zealand Test

Barcelona and Man Utd draw thriller as Juventus held in Europa League

PARIS: Barcelona and Manchester United played out a thrilling 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Europa League play-off tie on Thursday, while Juventus were left frustrated by Nantes in a 1-1 stalemate.

The game at the Camp Nou brought together two European giants who met in two Champions League finals in 2009 and 2011, and who are both in excellent form domestically.

After a goalless first half, La Liga leaders Barcelona went ahead five minutes into the second half thanks to a Marcos Alonso header at a corner.

However, United drew level just three minutes later when Marcus Rashford beat Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen at his near post to score a 13th goal in 15 games since the World Cup.

The Premier League side then took the lead just before the hour mark through a Jules Kounde own goal, but a Raphinha cross flew in inside the final quarter of an hour to secure a draw for Barca before a crowd of more than 90,000.

“I think it was a great game. Two attacking teams, I think it was a Champions League game, even more than that,” United boss Erik ten Hag told broadcaster BT Sport. “We have to finish it in Old Trafford.”

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez was left complaining that his side should have had a penalty for a handball by Fred.

“It’s a stolen penalty,” said Xavi. “I don’t know why they don’t whistle for penalties for handball now. It seems incredible to me. Incredible.”

Winning the Europa League may represent the best chance for Juventus to return to the Champions League next season after they were handed a 15-point deduction in Serie A.

That punishment, for what the Italian Football Federation ruled was illicit transfer activity designed to artificially boost their accounts, has left the Turin giants 12 points adrift of the top four at home.

Against Nantes they looked on course for a comfortable win when Federico Chiesa nodded a ball across the face of goal for Dusan Vlahovic to open the scoring early on.

But French Cup holders Nantes equalised on the breakaway on the hour when Ludovic Blas ran through to finish emphatically.

A Chiesa shot then hit the underside of the bar and bounced down without quite all of the ball crossing the line, before it struck the post and rebounded away.

Nantes also survived a VAR penalty check for a handball deep in injury time, the referee instead giving them a free-kick and leaving Juventus with work to do in the return.

Sevilla win, Roma lose

Elsewhere, Monaco came from behind to triumph 3-2 away against Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen, with Axel Disasi scoring the winner in the 92nd minute.

An own goal by Leverkusen goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky had put Monaco ahead early on only for second-half goals by Moussa Diaby and Florian Wirtz to turn the game around.

However, Krepin Diatta pulled the principality team back level before France defender Disasi’s strike.

Shakhtar Donetsk were 2-1 winners against Rennes as the Ukrainian club played their first European game since selling star winger Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea.

Playing in the Polish capital Warsaw, Dmytro Kryskiv put Shakhtar ahead and Artem Bondarenko netted a penalty before Karl Toko-Ekambi pulled one back for Rennes.

Jose Mourinho’s Roma went down 1-0 away to Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg with Argentine midfielder Nicolas Capaldo scoring a late winner.

Sevilla, the competition’s most successful club, beat PSV Eindhoven 3-0 in Spain as Youssef En-Nesyri, Lucas Ocampos and Nemanja Gudelj all netted.

Ajax drew 0-0 with Union Berlin, while Sebastian Coates scored deep into stoppage time to earn Sporting a 1-1 draw with Midtjylland of Denmark in Lisbon.

The second legs will be played next Thursday with places in the last 16 up for grabs alongside the eight teams who topped their groups.

Fiorentina were the biggest winners in the first legs of the Europa Conference League play-offs as they trounced Braga 4-0 in Portugal.

Ciro Immobile gave Lazio a 1-0 victory against CFR Cluj while there were also first-leg wins for Qarabag, Trabzonspor, AEK Larnaca, Partizan Belgrade and Ludogorets.

READ: ‘Can’t understand why Azam is not in Pakistan team’ says Munro