After the victory of AS Roma or the spectacular draw of Arsenal, the round of 16 first leg of the Europa League continued, this Thursday, with four meetings scheduled at 9 p.m. At Old Trafford, Manchester United, third in the Premier League, hosted Real Betis, fifth in La Liga. A European clash which quickly turned to the advantage of Erik Ten Hag’s men. Organized in 4-2-3-1 with Wout Weghorst, Bruno Fernandes and Antony in support of Marcus Rashford, the Mancunians were quick to celebrate their number 10, on a cloud since the start of 2023.
Bruno Fernandes porte Manchester United !
Taking advantage of a center from Fernandes, pushed back by the Spanish defense, the Three Lions striker controlled before shooting Claudio Bravo (1-0, 6th). Carried by the 5th goal of its star striker in the Europa League, the locals went back on the attack and Weghorst was very close to making the break (17th). In control, Man United, carried by Antony, continued to be dangerous but neither Weghorst (27th) nor Rashford (29th) could make the difference. Missed opportunities that the Red Devils would soon regret… Against the run of play and after a good control of the chest from 18 meters, Juanmi found Perez, on the right in the box. With a half volley from the right, the Spaniard equalized and completely revived this meeting (1-1, 32nd).
Held in check at the break, Varane’s teammates quickly regained control of operations at the start of the second period. Domination logically rewarded. Served by Bruno Fernandes, Antony rolled up his shot perfectly and restored the advantage to his team (2-1, 52nd). And the Red Devils (finally) made the break. On a corner on the left side struck by Luke Shaw, Fernandes, omnipresent in this meeting, cut the trajectory at the near post and deceived Bravo (3-1, 58th). Masters of the debates, the Red Devils did not release the pressure (76th, 79th) and finally completed their success thanks to a new achievement by Weghorst (4-1, 82nd). A very good lead before the return match, scheduled for March 16.
Angel Di Maria still decisive, Seville regains victory!
In the other matches of this evening, Juventus Turin, qualified at the expense of FC Nantes, received Freiburg, fifth in the Bundesliga. Dominating during the first act, the Old Lady did not manage, however, to take the advantage despite several situations. If Rabiot, Di Maria, Vlahovic or even Cuadrado solicited Flekken, the Germans offered a good resistance. It was finally necessary to wait for the return of the locker room to see “El Fideo” find the way to the nets and offer a slight advantage to Juve before the second round. At Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Jorge Sampaoli, under pressure, and Sevilla welcomed Fenerbahçe. In difficulty in La Liga, the Blanquirrojos took advantage of the European scene to reassure themselves and take a slight option on the quarter-finals thanks to Joan Jordan and Erik Lamela. Note, finally, that Feyenoord Rotterdam could not do better than a draw (1-1) against Shakhtar Donetsk despite a clear domination. Ezequiel Bullaude responding to Yaroslav Rakitskyi.
All 9 p.m. results
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Manchester United 4-1 Real Betis : Rashford (6e), Antony (52e), Fernandes (58e) et Weghorst (82e) / Perez (32e)
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Juventus Turin 1-0 Freiburg: Di Maria (53rd)
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Sevilla FC 2-0 Fenerbahce : Jordan (56e) et Lamela (85e)
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Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 Feyenoord Rotterdam : Rakitskyi (78e) / Bullaude (88e)
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