In play for the round of 16 of the Europa League, Manchester United hosted Real Betis and won 4-1 in the first leg. Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes and Weghorst scored for the English side at Old Trafford, while Ayoze Perez scored for the visitors on Thursday.
With the triumph, United can lose by up to two goals in the second leg to advance to the quarterfinals of the competition. The duel will take place next Thursday (16), at the Benito Villamarín stadium, in Seville. If the Spaniards win by three goals apart, the game will go into overtime.
Ahead of the decisive clash, ten Hag’s men play in the Premier League at the weekend. The team hosts Southampton on Sunday. On the same day, Betis will visit Villarreal, in a duel valid for the Spanish Championship.
Advantage: United! 👏#MUFC || #UEL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) March 9, 2023
The game
After just six minutes, United were already ahead of the scoreboard. After Bruno Fernandes’ cross, Rashford took advantage of Luiz Felipe’s wrong cut, cleared the defender and shot the net to leave the Manchester team in advantage.
The home team continued to create chances and dominate the match until the 32nd minute. In Betis’s counterattack, Juanmi played over the top to Ayoze Perez, who killed in the chest and cross-kicked to tie the duel.
In the second half, United again took the reins of the match and went ahead again. At seven, Antony received a pass from Bruno Fernandes and risked a shot placed outside the area. The ball entered the right angle of goalkeeper Bravo, with no chance of defense.
Six minutes later, it was Bruno Fernandes’ turn to make his mark at Old Trafford. The Portuguese took advantage of Shaw’s corner kick and deflected it alone with his head. Goalkeeper Bravo even touched the ball, but it went in anyway.
Superior in the match, United continued to create and had two great opportunities at Antony’s feet. In the first, at 18 minutes, the Brazilian tabled with Bruno Fenrnades and played from cavadinha over Bravo but the ball went over the goal. On Monday, at 33 minutes, the striker came face-to-face with the goalkeeper, but the Chilean made a great save.
At 37, Weghorst completed the rout. After McTominay took advantage of Pellistri’s pass and finished it, the Dutchman took advantage of the rebound in the play and closed the score at 4-1.
Check out the results of the other Europa League games this Thursday:
Sporting 2×2 Arsenal
Union Berlin 3×3 Union Saint-Gilloise
Rome 2×0 Real Sociedad
Bayer Leverkusen 2×0 Ferencváros
Juventus 1×0 Freiburg
Sevilla 2×0 Fenerbahce
Shakhtar Donetsk 1×1 Feyenoord
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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