Comeback kings Marseille, Salzburg lead semi-final charge
Thursday, April 12, 2018
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Two-time UEFA Europa League winners Atlético were joined in the semi-finals by former runners-up Arsenal, Marseille and Salzburg.
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The UEFA Europa League continued where the UEFA Champions League had left off, with comebacks the theme of Thursday's quarter-final second legs – notably with remarkable recoveries, on the night and on aggregate, for Marseille and Salzburg.
- Watch highlights of every match
- FedEx Performance Zone: in-form players
- Semi-final draw at 12:00CET on 13 April
Europa League quarter-final second legs
CSKA Moskva 2-2 Arsenal (agg: 3-6)
Marseille 5-2 Leipzig (agg: 5-3)
Salzburg 4-1 Lazio (agg: 6-5)
Sporting CP 1-0 Atlético (agg: 1-2)
Already in arrears from last week, OM fell further behind at home to Leipzig yet quickly rallied with an own goal and strikes from Bouna Sarr and Florian Thauvin. Although Leipzig scored again, Dimitri Payet's super effort sealed a semi-final spot for the two-time losing finalists.
A sell-out crowd in Salzburg saw Lazio ace Ciro Immobile's eighth goal of this campaign, but – now trailing 5-2 overall – the 1994 runners-up first levelled and then found three goals in five crazy minutes through Amadou Haidara, Hee-Chan Hwang and Stefan Lainer.
CSKA also threatened a fightback against Arsenal but the decisive third goal in Moscow eluded them – going instead to Danny Welbeck. Sporting CP's revival also came up short versus twice champions Atlético, despite Fredy Montero halving their deficit.