United come unstuck, Dortmund thwarted
Sunday, March 6, 2016
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Manchester United's recent progress was undone at West Bromwich Albion and Dortmund failed to close the gap on Bayern München as the round of 16 sides tackled domestic tasks.
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Manchester United will go into their much-anticipated round of 16 opener against Liverpool smarting from a loss after a weekend of mixed fortunes for the UEFA Europa League clubs.
United's run of four consecutive wins in all competitions came to an end as they went down 1-0 at West Bromwich Albion following an early dismissal for Juan Mata – hardly ideal preparation for Thursday's first leg at Anfield, especially as the Reds fought back to beat Crystal Palace 2-1 via a late Christian Benteke penalty, despite James Milner's own red card.
England's third contenders Tottenham Hotspur had an equally dramatic prelude to their tie with Dortmund as they drew 2-2 with north London derby rivals Arsenal, a result which left the hosts five points behind Premier League leaders Leicester City. As for BVB, they were held 0-0 by Bayern München on home soil, missing the chance to close the five-point gap at the Bundesliga summit.
Elsewhere, fourth-placed Villarreal lost in Spain and fifth-placed Sevilla had to settle for a stalemate – before Valencia slumped to a 3-1 home reverse at the hands of Atlético. Shakhtar Donetsk resumed their league campaign with a triumph, on the other hand, while Fenerbahçe built a five-point gap in Turkey, though they have played two more games than Beşiktaş in second.
SUNDAY
Sporting Gijón 0-2 Athletic
Lugano p-p Basel
Braga 3-1 Porto (21.30)
Akhisar 0-3 Fenerbahçe
Torino 1-1 Lazio
Crystal Palace 1-2 Liverpool
West Brom 1-0 Manchester United
Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 Vorskla
Sparta Praha 2-1 Jablonek
Valencia 1-3 Atlético
SATURDAY
Mouscron 2-1 Anderlecht
Augsburg 3-3 Leverkusen
Dortmund 0-0 Bayern
Getafe 1-1 Sevilla
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Arsenal
Villarreal 0-1 Las Palmas
