BERLIN (AP) – Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Manchester United took a big step into the Europa League round of 16 with a 4-0 “away” win over Spanish Real Sociedad in Italy on Thursday.
The first leg was played in Turin, one of several games that were moved away from their original venues due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions from certain countries that affect teams from Great Britain.
Portugal’s Benfica had to host Arsenal in Rome, where Bukayo Saka’s away goal put the Premier League side in a good position with a 1-1 draw.
Tottenham defeated Austrian Wolfsberg 4-1 in Budapest, Hungary.
Germany’s Hoffenheim was also affected by travel restrictions related to the pandemic.
Hoffenheim’s match with Norwegian Molde was played at the Villarreal stadium in Spain, while Villarreal beat Salzburg 2-0 in Austria.
Hoffenheim striker Munas Dabbur scored two goals, prepared another and missed a penalty before Molde came back two goals against to draw 3-3.
FLIGHT UNITED
Fernandes had the Society’s defense to thank for his first goal at 27, when two defenders collided with his own goalkeeper, leaving him free to score on empty goal. He then finished off a quick counterattack to make it 2-0 in the 57th. Fernandes let Marcus Rashford’s pass go behind him to Daniel James, then received the ball and shot inside the right post.
Rashford added the third at 64 and James completed the scoring in the final minute.
United are playing in the Europa League for the third time in five seasons, a loss for a club that was once considered a continental heavyweight.
ARCO DE BALE
Gareth Bale reminded his detractors of his qualities when he scored a goal and prepared another for Tottenham.
The Welsh forward, back at Tottenham on loan from Real Madrid until the end of the season, slashed the ball at Son Heung-min to open the scoring at 13, before illustrating why Madrid paid Tottenham a record fee for their services. in 2013.
Bale showed Matt Doherty exactly where he wanted the ball, edged past Jonathan Scherzer to reach it, then stopped to leave the Wolfsberg defender prone, before unleashing a powerful shot that passed goalkeeper Alexander Kofler with his left boot.
Bale has been fighting his second spell at Tottenham, with just seven Premier League appearances. He recently annoyed José Mourinho for posting “Good session today” on Instagram with the Tottenham coach saying he had ” a contradiction between the mail and reality. “
Lucas Moura eluded several defenders to make it 3-0 in the 34th minute.
A Michael Liendl penalty gave the Austrians hope in the second half, but Vinicius, who had come into the break for Son, scored from close range in the 88th.
Wolfsberg plays for the first time in the round of 16 of a European competition.
EVENING DRAMA
Ajax left him late to beat Lille 2-1 in France, where American forward Timothy Weah opened the scoring for Lille in the 72nd.
It was Weah’s second goal in the competition. The 20-year-old forward is the son of former Milan great George Weah, the current president of Liberia.
Renato Sanches awarded a penalty for a foul on Nicolás Tagliafico, and Dušan Tadić leveled from point 87, two minutes before 19-year-old Brian Brobbey scored the winning goal.
A last-minute penalty from Borna Barišić, their second of the match, gave Rangers a 4-3 victory over Belgian side Antwerp.
Milan Pavkov scored in added time for Red Star Belgrade to draw 2-2 against visiting AC Milan.
LEVERKUSEN WITHOUT REWARD
Bayer Leverkusen fended off three goals at halftime against Young Boys, before Jordan Siebatcheu scored in the 89th to give the Swiss team a 4-3 win.
“We showed that we are a team in the second half,” said Leverkusen captain Jonathan Tah. “It’s disappointing and a shame to lose in the end.”
The German team is used to disappointment, and rival supporters derisively call it “Bayer Neverkusen” for finishing runner-up.
Upset napoli
Two goals in two minutes from Brazilian striker Kenedy and Venezuelan midfielder Yangel Herrera gave Spanish Granada a surprising 2-0 victory over Napoli.
Shakhtar Donetsk beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0, Dynamo Kyiv drew 1-1 with Club Brugge, Leicester drew 0-0 at Slavia Prague, Rome beat Sporting Braga 2-0, Dinamo Zagreb beat Russian team Krasnodar 3-2 away, and Olympiakos won 4-2 at home over PSV Eindhoven.
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Eddie is an Australian news reporter with over 9 years in the industry and has published on Forbes and tech crunch.
