EUROPA League
SEVILLA, LEVERKUSEN CRUISE INTO EUROPA LEAGUE QUARTER-FINALS
Five-times winners Sevilla made light work of AS Roma when first half goals from Sergio Reguilon and Youssef En-Nesyri gave them a 2-0 win over AS Roma and sent them into the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday (Aug 6).
Sevilla’s win, in a tie reduced to a single match played in Duisberg, Germany, after the first leg was called off at the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, earned them a meeting with Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday.
Former Spain coach Julen Lopetegui’s side went ahead when Reguilon flew past Bruno Perez and scored with an angled shot which squeezed between goalkeeper Pau Lopez’s legs.
Roma, who finished fifth in Serie A after winning seven of their last eight games, appeared to be coming back into the match when Sevilla struck again.
The La Liga side broke up a Roma attack, Lucas Ocampos was set free down the right and pulled the ball back for En-Nesyri to turn into an empty net shortly before halftime. Roma had Gianluca Mancini sent off in stoppage time.
The last eight will be played in four German cities as part of the mini-tournament, with the final on Aug. 21 in Cologne.
A ninth minute penalty from Raul Jimenez gave Wolves a 1-0 win over Olympiakos which took them through 2-1 on aggregate in a tie played over two legs.
The Mexican also tried his luck with an outrageous rabona shot before halftime which flew over. However, the English Premier League side did not have it all their own way as they reached their first European quarter-final since 1972.
Olympiakos enjoyed 62 per cent possession and had a goal by Mady Camara chalked off in the 28th minute after a long VAR review for offside against Youssef El Arabi in the build up.
Bayer Leverkusen also went through by beating Rangers 1-0 at home to complete a 4-1 aggregate win and earn a quarter-final against Inter Milan on Monday.
Moussa Diaby struck the winner in the 51st minute, controlling Charles Aranguiz’s through ball before thumping his shot into the roof of the net.
FC Basel completed the line-up when a late goal from Fabian Frei gave them a 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt to send the Swiss side through 4-0 on aggregate. They will face Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday.
-Reuters
EUROPA League
Ten Hag urges ‘mad’ Man United to take out frustration on Porto
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag called on his players to use the frustration from their humbling defeat by Tottenham Hotspur as motivation to beat Porto in the Europa League on Thursday.
Following the 3-0 home loss to Spurs on Sunday, Ten Hag admitted his team’s mood could have been more positive.
“We are mad, mad with ourselves, especially when you lose a game like Sunday… but you have to deal with it. We are mad, and from the madness we have to get motivation,” Ten Hag told reporters on Wednesday.
“Always, when we are not winning we are disappointed and we are also mad with ourselves.”
United are 13th in the Premier League table and following a 1-1 draw with Dutch side Twente Enschede in the first Europa League match, Ten Hag said speculation about his job was inevitable.
“This club wants to be back on top and it’s a long-term target. We talk every day. Every day we evaluate and review the process and where necessary we make our decisions,” he said
“Everyone has to take responsibility and that starts with me as the manager. But on the pitch we have leadership skills and they have to stand up.
“Every game for us is important and every opponent is 100% motivated. We have to be ready to compete and fight with them.”
The Dutchman said midfielder Mason Mount, who was not part of the squad that travelled to Porto, was dealing with two injury issues and that defender Luke Shaw should return to action following the October international break.
-Reuters
EUROPA League
Man Utd take their domestic woes to international scene
Manchester United began their Europa League campaign with a 1-1 draw after they were held by FC Twente at a rainy Old Trafford on Wednesday, with a goal from Christian Eriksen being cancelled out by Dutch striker Sam Lammers.
The first half was a lively affair, with Twente’s Lammers making an early attempt that trickled past the post.
Eriksen put United ahead 10 minutes before the break, delivering a powerful curling shot into the top corner from inside the box.
Twente equalised in the 68th minute when Lammers produced a powerful finish past United keeper Andre Onana at the near post.
Joshua Zirkzee tried to get United in front again minutes later with a shot from an acute angle but were denied by a save from Twente keeper Lars Unnerstall.
Bruno Fernandes came close to scoring for United in the final minutes with a curling shot toward the top corner, but the hosts struggled to break through Twente’s deep-lying defence, which seemed content to secure the away draw.
DIA DOUBLE FOR LAZIO
Boulaye Dia scored a double and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru added another in the first half to hand Lazio a comprehensive 3-0 win against Dynamo Kyiv in Hamburg.
Nice and Real Sociedad played out a 1-1 draw. Ander Barrenetxea put the Basque side ahead before Pablo Rosario scored the equaliser for Nice.
Elsewhere, Turkish champions Galatasaray claimed a 3-1 home win over Greece’s PAOK thanks to Abdul Rahman Baba’s own goal and strikes from Yunus Akgun and Mauro Icardi. Giannis Konstantelias scored for the visitors.
In an early match, Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt secured a 3-2 home victory against FC Porto thanks to a brace from Jens Petter Hauge, despite going down to 10 men in the 51st minute.
-Reuters
EUROPA League
Ajax and Panathinaikos set UEFA record with 34 penalty kicks
It took Ajax 34 penalties to beat Panathinaikos 13-12 in a marathon shootout on Thursday, setting a UEFA competition record after their Europa League third qualifying round tie ended 1-1 over two legs and extra time.
Ajax, who won 1-0 at Panathinaikos last week, conceded in the 89th minute in Amsterdam, leading to the shootout that broke the previous record of 32 attempts at the European U-21 Championship semi-final in 2007 where Netherlands beat England 13-12.
The world record for the longest shootout was set in May when Israeli third-tier clubs SC Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv took 56 penalties to resolve their semi-final promotion playoff tie.
Ajax keeper Remko Pasveer made five saves and scored on his own attempt to help the hosts win the shootout as Dutch international Brian Brobbey missed two penalties.
“Five is quite a lot, yes. I save a penalty every now and then, but I don’t think you often experience something as crazy as this,” Pasveer said.
“Every time I thought we would do it. Brobbey behind the ball, we will do it. But he missed, while he always scores during training.”
Defender Anton Gaaei ultimately delivered the winning penalty for Ajax. The Eredivisie club will now face Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok in the playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
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