Europa League: Sevilla dump dire Man United; Roma, Leverkusen and Juventus join in last four
Six-time winners Sevilla continued their quest for yet another UEFA Europa League trophy after despatching Man United in the quarter-final second leg at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán.
The home side, buoyed by a stunning two-goal comeback at Old Trafford seven days earlier, displayed their intentions from the off with a high press and that tactic paid dividends just eight minutes in.
The introduction of Youssef En-Nesyri as a late substitute had tipped the first leg back into Sevilla’s favour, sparking the fightback as José Luis Mendilibar’s side rescued a draw. The home coach rewarded the Moroccan forward with a start and he was instrumental in the opening goal.
En-Nesyri was one of three Los Hispalenses players who surrounded Harry Maguire in possession on the edge of the box. This left the United defender with nowhere to turn in playing the ball out from the back, his pass charged down by former Tottenham attacker Erik Lamela to allow En-Nesyri to gain possession and guide a low left-footed shot into the bottom left of the goal past a static David de Gea.
Sevilla peppered the United goal in search of a second and had the ball in the net five minutes before the interval courtesy of Lucas Ocampos’ curling strike, but Marcos Acuña had strayed offside in the build-up.
With his side up against it, United manager Erik ten Hag made two half-time changes, introducing top scorer Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw in a bid to regain a foothold in the tie.
Instead Sevilla doubled their lead two minutes after the restart. Their set pieces were a constant worry for the visiting defence and Ivan Rakitić’s corner from the right was met emphatically by Loïc Badé, who looped a header over De Gea and into the net via the underside of the crossbar.
It was another Rakitić set piece which almost helped the Liga side to another, En-Nesyri’s header from the Croatian’s delivery blocked by Shaw. Ocampos was quickest to the rebound, but could not force the ball past De Gea from close range.
Sevilla were ruthless going forward and settled the contest nine minutes from time. De Gea came off his line to clear a high clearance from the Sevilla defence, but his mis-kick gave En-Nesyri another sight of goal.
Just inside the final third and to the left of goal, the Moroccan international collected the loose ball before steering into the unguarded net.
Paulo Dybala scored in the 89th minute before Roma added two more goals in extra time to see off Feyenoord in a gripping second leg.
Chasing a 1-0 deficit from the first leg, Roma applied greater pressure during the first half before the return fixture burst into life immediately after the break as Lorenzo Pellegrini touched a cross against the post from close range. Fourteen minutes later Leonardo Spinazzola’s finish through a crowded penalty area brought the hosts level.
In an unpredictable rerun of the inaugural Europa Conference League final, substitutes always looked likely to play a huge impact – and so it proved when Igor Paixão put Feyenoord on course to progress with ten minutes of regular time to go.
Nine minutes later, with immaculate timing at a moment of high drama, Paulo Dybala produced a clinical turn and finish to rescue Roma’s European campaign.
Roger Ibañez hit the woodwork with a 97th-minute header but it was fellow Roma replacement Tammy Abraham who played a part in the two goals his side scored without reply in extra time.
The English striker set up Stephan El Shaarawy to prod in before forcing Justin Bijlow to parry his shot back into the path of Pellegrini, who slotted in to give Roma breathing space.
Santiago Gimenez was shown a straight red card in the 120th minute as Feyenoord’s fine run was brought to an end, their opponents coming through a gruelling test to set up a semi-final tie with Leverkusen who produced a ruthless second-leg display to end Union Saint-Gilloise’s hopes of Europa League glory.
Union SG hopes were high in front of a sell-out crowd in Brussels, but instead it was the visitors who struck with barely a minute played. Florian Wirtz’s through ball caused havoc and Moussa Diaby pounced on a slip from defender Christian Burgess, rounding goalkeeper Anthony Moris and slotting in from an angle to put Leverkusen in front with just 66 seconds on the clock.
Diaby might have added a quick second when he skewed wide from another Wirtz pass, but Leverkusen’s dominance was rewarded seven minutes before the interval. A devastating break gave Adam Hložek the chance to float a delightful cross to the back post, where Mitchel Bakker fired a controlled volley past Moris.
Union SG defender Koki Machida headed a superb Teddy Teuma free-kick narrowly over the bar before the interval as the home side sought a response, but the game was up on the hour when Bakker closed down Moris and the keeper’s clearance went straight to Jeremie Frimpong, who turned it into the unguarded net.
Teenage substitute Casper Terho did pull one back with a deflected shot on the turn five minutes later, but any home hopes of a comeback were put to bed on 79 minutes when Hložek slotted in after Moris could only parry Diaby’s low drive.
Juventus withstood late pressure from Sporting CP to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2014 after a tight second leg in Lisbon.
The Serie A team had scored in the closing stages in Turin last week and doubled that 1-0 advantage within nine minutes. Sporting were unable to clear a Federico Chiesa corner and Adrien Rabiot made them pay with a close-range finish on the turn.
The home side responded well, however, and seconds after a loose ball rebounded off Danilo and onto his own post, Rabiot conceded a penalty by clipping Manuel Ugarte in the box. Marcus Edwards duly converted from the spot, slotting down the middle to level on the night.
The home team might have been back on terms on aggregate before the break but Ousmane Diomande headed just wide and although the Portuguese team settled more as the game progressed, their chances to score were rare.
Indeed, Juventus almost restored their second-leg lead when Juan Cuadrado’s cross found Dušan Vlahović but, stretching slightly, the striker could only head over from close range.
Sporting began to press with time running out, Ricardo Esgaio failing to capitalise on errors from Danilo before Sebastián Coates missed a volley and an attempt back across goal as Juventus survived.
