Europa League knockout round play-off first legs: Sevilla shine, Roma beaten, Barcelona-Man United ends all square | UEFA Europa League
The spoils were shared in a knockout round first leg play-off between Barcelona and Manchester United, while there were victories for UEFA Europa League specialists Sevilla and Salzburg, who left late for Roma to fall.
Barcelona 2-2 Manchester United
All goals came after the break in a vibrant opener at the Camp Nou. Marcos Alonso’s header was quickly equalized by Marcus Rashford and United turned the contest around with a Jules Koundé own goal. Raphinha’s cross went wide to make it 2-2 before Casemiro saw his release rebound off his own post in a frenetic finish.
Did you know?
Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 14 home games in UEFA competition against English clubs (W9, W5) – a streak dating back to February 2007.
Juventus 1-1 Nantes
Ludovic Blas scored from a clean second-half counterattack to hand Nantes a draw against opponents 109 places above them. Dušan Vlahović gave the hosts an early lead with a sweeping shot, which they almost restored late on when a shot from Federico Chiesa hit the crossbar and a post.
Did you know?
Nantes had drawn just one of their last 19 first legs in UEFA club competition.
Sporting CP 1-1 Midtjylland
Captain Sebastián Coates saved Sporting with the final kick of the game to deny the Danes a deserved win in Lisbon. Midtjylland, playing their first game since November’s World Cup, ended strongly after a poor first half when Emam Ashour took advantage of a poor Antonio Adán defense to intervene from distance. Sporting didn’t have a shot on target until injury time, but Coates then surfaced to hit a rebound from his own header.
Did you know?
Sporting have lost just four of their 36 home games in the Europa League.
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Rennes
Shakhtar will give France a narrow advantage after Dmytro Kryskiv’s early exit and an Artem Bondarenko penalty helped secure a first-leg win in Warsaw. The Ukraine side led 2-0 at the break but were under pressure in the second half and Karl Toko Ekambi’s volley gave Rennes hope.
Did you know?
Rennes was unbeaten in six Europa League games this season before this defeat.
What next?
The second leg will take place on February 23. The tie winners receive a spot in the round of 16 draw on 24 February, where they remain unseeded.
The seeded teams are Arsenal, Betis, Fenerbahçe, Ferencváros, Feyenoord, Fribourg, Real Sociedad, Union Saint-Gilloise.
Ajax 0-0 Union Berlin
The hosts were denied a shot on goal and will be relieved to travel to Germany on the same level. Gerónimo Rulli ensured John Heitinga’s side held a tie, saving a fierce free-kick from Josip Juranović and a close-range header from Morten Thorsby, who also disallowed a goal for the impressive visitors.
Did you know?
Ajax had scored at home against German opponents in their last 17 UEFA club competition games.
Leverkusen 2-3 Monaco
Captain Axel Disasi scored an injury-time winner from long range as Monaco beat Leverkusen in a night of stunning goals in Germany. An early own goal by Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky was disallowed by a skilful finish by Moussa Diaby. Florian Wirtz beat three men to put the home side ahead, only Krépin Diatta and Disasi both struck from long-range.
Did you know?
Monaco have scored 23 goals in their last seven games in all competitions.
Sevilla 3-0 PSV
Lucas Ocampos came off the bench to score and create another as Sevilla took control of the tie. Youssef En-Nesyri converted a low cross from Jesús Navas in first-half added time and the Spaniards then sped away. Ocampos came on as a substitute at the break and scored a superb second goal before elegantly heeling in Nemanja Gudelj for the third.
Did you know?
Ocampos’ goal was his first in European competition in almost exactly a year – his last goal was in the 3-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb on 17 February 2022.
Salzburg 1-0 Roma
Nicolás Capaldo’s impressive header in the 88th minute gave Salzburg a hard-earned win over holders Roma of the Europa Conference League. Goalkeeper Philipp Köhn was the hosts’ savior, parrying Tammy Abraham’s close-range shot in the first half and scratching substitute Andrea Belotti’s late strike in front of Capaldo’s clinchers on the underside of his crossbar.
Did you know?
Roma have gone without a goal in 34 UEFA club competition games for the first time.
What are the knockout stage play-offs?
The UEFA Europa League knockout stage play-offs feature 16 teams: the eight runners-up from the UEFA Europa League group stage and the eight third-placed teams from the UEFA Champions League group stage.
Ties will be played over two legs and will end on Thursday 23 February; The away goals rule has been abolished. The eight winners advance to the round of 16 draw on Friday 24 February (the eight group winners have already qualified); the eight play-off losers are no longer in European competition in 2022/23.