EUROPA League
RASHFORD AND FERNANDES ENSURE MAN UNITED BRUSH OFF GRANADA IN EUROPA LEAGUE
Marcus Rashford’s brilliant finish and a Bruno Fernandes penalty handed Manchester United a 2-0 victory over Granada on Thursday (April 8), putting them firmly in charge of their Europa League quarter-final first leg.
Rashford latched onto a long ball from Victor Lindelof in the first half, the striker injecting one bit of quality into a frantic contest at Los Carmenes before Fernandes made it two in the 90th minute after being elbowed by Yan Eteki.
The result gives United a commanding lead heading into the second leg at Old Trafford, where they should finish the job and book their place in the semi-final to face either Ajax or Roma.
Rashford has now scored eight of United’s 23 goals in this competition.
Granada celebrated their 90-year anniversary on Tuesday and arguably have never played a bigger fixture, a club that has never won a major trophy against one that has claimed 20 Premier League titles and three European Cups.
This is something of a fairytale for the Spanish club that finished 10th in the second division only three years ago before Diego Martinez, arguably La Liga’s brightest up and coming coach, engineered promotion and then qualification for Europe.
Six players in their starting line-up played for Martinez in the second tier and with Los Carmenes empty, Granada even sent all their season ticket holders a personalised ticket as a souvenir to mark the occasion.
For United, the Europa League remains Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s only realistic hope of a trophy and with a place in the top four all-but guaranteed, he can afford to give it his full attention.
Solskjaer fielded a strong line-up, with Rashford handed a start despite coming off against Brighton on Sunday with a knock. David de Gea was picked in goal for the first time since February.
Granada had Roberto Soldado up front, the 35-year-old striker who endured two disappointing seasons with Tottenham in the Premier League but tasted victory against United in his last appearance for them in 2014, when he came off for a young Harry Kane.
United had to survive a frantic opening period when neither side really settled but Rashford dropped the first bit of real quality into the match just after half an hour.
Lindelof spotted his run in behind but Rashford still had a lot to do, his outstretched foot cushioning the ball brilliantly into his path and giving him a simple finish past Rui Silva.
Granada responded, a mishit cross hitting the post before Kenedy tested De Gea with a well-struck volley.
But United absorbed the pressure and should have scored a second in the second half when Daniel James burst through down the left and slipped in Fernandes, but he was unable to find the finish from the angle.
Fernandes, though, won the penalty, struck down by the arm of Eteki before getting up to take it, a scuffed shot squirming into the bottom corner to put United in sight of the semis.
-AFP
Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We need to go and win it now.”
Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.
“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” for their fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday’s win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with fans
He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted. “Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added of the upcoming opponents.
-Reuters
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List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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