Europa League
Europa League roundup: United edge Milan, Arsenal limp through
Eight teams progressed to the Europa League quarterfinals following an exciting slate of second-leg fixtures. Below, theScore rounds up how Thursday’s deciders unfolded.
Late kickoffs
AC Milan 0-1 Manchester United – United win 2-1 on agg.
Paul Pogba was brought on for the second half of Manchester United’s match at AC Milan, and it took him less than three minutes to lift the ball into the roof of the net following a goalmouth scramble. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was called off the bench for the hosts midway through the second half but couldn’t make a telling difference against his old side.
Read the full match report here.
Rangers 0-2 Slavia Prague – Slavia win 3-1 on agg.
Rangers had a precious away-goal advantage from the first leg in the Czech capital, but Slavia Prague carved out another standout result in the competition with a 2-0 triumph in Glasgow. Kemar Roofe and Leon Balogun were both sent off for Steven Gerrard’s side.
Villarreal 2-0 Dynamo Kyiv – Villarreal win 4-0 on agg.
Villarreal reached the quarterfinals for the second time in three years following a rather comfortable doubleheader with Dynamo Kyiv. Gerard Moreno scored twice in the first half, taking his fruitful streak to 11 goals in his last 12 matches across all competitions.
Young Boys 0-2 Ajax – Ajax win 5-0 on agg.
It was nice and easy for Ajax as they rounded out a dominant aggregate defeat of Young Boys. David Neres poked in a 21st-minute opener and Dusan Tadic pocketed a penalty shortly after the break.
Early kickoffs
Arsenal 0-1 Olympiacos – Arsenal win 3-2 on agg.
Olympiacos bounced back from their first-leg defeat to make things interesting against Arsenal. However, their bid to pull off another upset over the Gunners fell short, as Arsenal’s first-leg advantage was good enough to see them through to the quarterfinals despite falling 1-0 at home on Thursday.
Dinamo Zagreb 3-2 Tottenham Hotspur – Dinamo win 3-2 on agg.
Wow. Just wow. Tottenham Hotspur had one foot in the Europa League quarterfinals after their first-leg victory, but Dinamo Zagreb stormed back for a historic win in Europe. Mislav Orsic netted an aesthetically-pleasing treble for Dinamo, taking his tournament record to five goals and two assists, while Spurs attempted almost half of their total shots in the final eight minutes of extra time.
Read the full match report here.
Shakhtar Donetsk 1-2 Roma – Roma win 5-1 on agg.
AS Roma marched into the quarterfinals with a comfortable 5-1 aggregate win over Shakhtar Donetsk. The Italian club followed its dominant first-leg victory with a 2-1 away win to finish off Shakhtar and progress to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1999 – when the tournament was known as the UEFA Cup.
Molde 2-1 Granada – Granada win 3-2 on agg.
An away goal spoiled Molde’s attempt to pull off the comeback, as Granada beat the Norwegian side 3-2 on aggregate to extend their surprising Europa League campaign. After falling behind in the first half, Granada forward Roberto Soldado leveled the match with a goal that ultimately gave way to a quarterfinal berth for the Spanish club.