United crush Betis, Arsenal fight back to draw at Sporting – Newspaper
MANCHESTER: Manchester United bounced back from a historic blow against Liverpool to outclass Real Betis 4-1 in the first leg of the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday, while Premier League leaders Arsenal did enough to edge Sporting Lisbon to a 2-2 draw defeat .
United equalized their heaviest defeat ever and their worst since 1931 with Sunday’s 7-0 defeat at Anfield.
Erik ten Hag responded by choosing the same starting XI and was rewarded with a return to form.
“You see how a team reacts after a setback,” said Ten Hag. “This isn’t the first time this season, I think you see five or six times that we can reset and bounce back. This team has character, so kudos to the team.”
Marcus Rashford gave United the lead after six minutes with their 26th goal of the season, but Betis equalized against the flow of play when Ayoze Perez fired in the far post in the 32nd.
It was two of United’s most heavily criticized stars in recent days who made the difference after the break.
Antony rolled a brilliant shot into the top corner in the 52nd before Bruno Fernandes, who Ten Hag re-named captain, headed into Luke Shaw’s corner.
Dutch striker Wout Weghorst, who missed a few chances, completed the defeat in the 82nd minute, deflecting the ball into the net after a cut by substitute Facundo Pellistri.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta made six changes to the team that started the 3-2 last-minute win against Bournemouth, giving striker Reiss Nelson his first start since November and a debut for defender Jakub Kiwior.
The visitors dominated the early stages and took the lead in the 22nd minute thanks to William Saliba’s close-range header from a corner, but Sporting equalized 12 minutes later when unmarked defender Goncalo Inacio headed in from a corner.
Inacio’s goal delighted the Sportings fans and her side reacted as they took the lead in the 55th minute when Paulinho scored a rebound after goalkeeper Matt Turner had fired in after good work from Marcus Edwards, a former Tottenham Hotspur Academy player. had blocked a shot at point-blank range by Pedro Goncalves.
However, Arsenal fought back to secure a tie after Hidemasa Morita made a mistake whose attempt to block a Granit Xhaka cross ended in his own net.
“When you think you can concede two goals away and still come away with a draw, you have to take something positive with you,” said Arteta. “But we gave them too much hope by giving the ball away too often in their own half.”
ADVANTAGE FOR ITALIAN GIANTS
Juventus will take a narrow lead to Germany next week after the in-form Angel di Maria scored the only goal in their 1-0 win against SC Freiburg.
Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma are also on course for the last eight after an early goal from Stephan El Shaarawy and a late header from Marash Kumbulla.
Six-time winners Sevilla may be battling relegation in La Liga but are always a threat in the Europa League and will lead 2-0 against Fenerbahce to Istanbul next week thanks to goals from Joan Jordan and Erik Lamela in the first leg.
In Germany, Belgian club Royale Union Saint-Gilloise came close to shocking Bundesliga third-placed Union Berlin, who had to bounce back after three goals in a 3-3 draw.
Victor Boniface scored for the visitors in the 28th minute, Josip Juranovic equalized just before the break.
Yorbe Vertessen restored Royale Union’s lead in the 58th minute, but Robin Knoche leveled the game 11 minutes later with a rebound from his own feeble penalty.
Boniface struck again three minutes later but Sven Michel capitalized on a lost ball in the box to salvage a late draw for Union Berlin.
Also in Germany, Bayer Leverkusen defeated Hungary’s Ferencvaros 2-0 thanks to goals from Kerem Demirbay and Edmond Tapsoba, while Shakhtar Donetsk and Feyenoord drew 1-1.
Michael Antonio scored twice in the first half in West Ham’s 2-0 win at AEK Larnaca in the UEFA Conference League.
Villarreal were beaten 1-1 at Anderlecht, while Nice and Fiorentina led 1-0 against Sheriff Tiraspol and Sivasspor respectively.
Published in Dawn, March 11, 2023