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Manchester United 4-1 Real Betis: Antony and Fernandes help steer United back on track

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Manchester United 4-1 Real Betis: Antony and Fernandes help steer United back on track




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Manchester United got back on track with a 4-1 victory over Real Betis in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 clash at Old Trafford.

Just days after humiliation at the hands of Liverpool, an unchanged United side responded fiercely to put one foot in the quarter-finals.

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It was not all plain sailing for Erik ten Hag’s side though, with Ayoze Perez equalising in the first half after Marcus Rashford gave the hosts an early need.

A strong second half put United in control though, as Antony guided home a trademark curler and Bruno Fernandes headed home to ensure a firm lead.

United came out of the blocks flying and, having already seen a Weghorst goal disallowed for offside, took the lead in the sixth minute as Rashford capped off a fine counter-attack to smash into the top corner. 

Claudio Bravo was called into action to deny Weghorst and Rashford, before Betis equalised against the run of play when Juanmi clipped a pass to Leicester City loanee Perez, who drilled into the far corner and give David de Gea no chance. 

Two minutes before the break, the visitors almost took the lead. De Gea sloppily gave the ball away to Juanmi, who fed a pass through to Perez, but United got away with it as his pass across the face of goal was deflected onto the post by Lisandro Martinez.

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United retook the lead seven minutes after the restart, Antony cutting inside onto his left foot and curling beyond the reach of Bravo from outside the box.

The hosts’ advantage was doubled just six minutes later, Fernandes finding space at the near post to head Luke Shaw’s corner home despite Bravo getting both hands to the ball.

Bravo kept the scoreline respectable with a number of crucial saves but could do nothing as Weghorst tucked home on the rebound after Scott McTominay’s effort was saved, with United on course for the quarter-finals.

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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‘Mr Europa League’ Unai Emery into yet another final

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UEFA Europa League - Semi Final - Second Leg - Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest - Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain - May 7, 2026. Aston Villa manager Unai Emery reacts Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith.

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.

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“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 qualified for the Europa League knockout phase

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Tyrone Mings scores their second goal REUTERS/Isabel Infantes

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)

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4. Real Betis (Spain)

5. Porto (Portugal)

6. Braga (Portugal)

7. Freiburg (Germany)

8. AS Roma (Italy)

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Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)

9. Genk (Belgium)

10. Bologna (Italy)

11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)

12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)

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13. Nottingham Forest (England)

14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)

15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)

16. Celta Vigo (Spain)

Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)

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17. PAOK (Greece)

18. Lille (France)

19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)

20. Panathinaikos (Greece)

21. Celtic (Scotland)

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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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Maccabi Tel Aviv refuse away tickets for Aston Villa Europa League match

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Maccabi Tel Aviv

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.

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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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