Europa League knockout round play-off first legs: Sevilla shine, Roma beaten, Barcelona-Man United ends all square
Thursday, February 16, 2023
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Sevilla were the big winners, Manchester United were denied a famous triumph in Barcelona and Roma suffered a late setback at Salzburg.
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The spoils were shared in a knockout round play-off first-leg thriller between Barcelona and Manchester United while there were victories for UEFA Europa League specialists Sevilla and Salzburg, who left it late to fell Roma.
Barcelona 2-2 Manchester United
All the goals came after the break in a pulsating opener at the Camp Nou. Marcos Alonso's header was cancelled out quickly by Marcus Rashford and United turned the contest around through a Jules Koundé own goal. Raphinha's cross missed everyone to make it 2-2 before Casemiro saw his clearance bounce back off his own post in a frenetic finish.
Did you know?
Barcelona are unbeaten in their last 14 home UEFA competition matches against English sides (W9 D5) – a run stretching back to February 2007.
Juventus 1-1 Nantes
Ludovic Blas struck from a clinical second-half counterattack to earn Nantes a draw at opponents with a club coefficient ranking 109 places above them. Dušan Vlahović finished a sweeping move to give the hosts an early lead and they almost restored it late on when Federico Chiesa's shot hit the crossbar and a post.
Did you know?
Nantes had drawn only one of their previous 19 first-leg matches in UEFA club competition.
Sporting CP 1-1 Midtjylland
Captain Sebastián Coates saved Sporting with the final kick of the match to deny the Danish side a deserved win in Lisbon. Midtjylland, playing their first game since before the World Cup in November, finished strongly after a tame first half with Emam Ashour taking advantage of a poor clearance from Antonio Adán to lash in from long range. Sporting did not have a shot on target until added time but Coates then popped up to fire in a rebound from his own header.
Did you know?
Sporting have only lost four of their 36 home matches in the Europa League.
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Rennes
Shakhtar will take a narrow advantage to France after Dmytro Kryskiv's early finish and an Artem Bondarenko penalty helped earn a first-leg win in Warsaw. The side from Ukraine led 2-0 at the interval but faced second-half pressure and Karl Toko Ekambi's volley gave Rennes hope.
Did you know?
Rennes were unbeaten in six Europa League matches this season before this defeat.
What next?
The second legs take place on 23 February. Winners of the ties earn a place in the round of 16 draw on 24 February, where they will be unseeded.
The seeded teams are Arsenal, Betis, Fenerbahçe, Ferencváros, Feyenoord, Freiburg, Real Sociedad, Union Saint-Gilloise.
Ajax 0-0 Union Berlin
The hosts failed to muster a shot on target and will be relieved to head to Germany on level terms. Gerónimo Rulli ensured John Heitinga's men held on for a draw, keeping out a fierce Josip Juranović free-kick and close-range header from Morten Thorsby, who also had a goal disallowed for the impressive visitors.
Did you know?
Ajax had scored in their previous 17 UEFA club competition matches at home to German opposition.
Leverkusen 2-3 Monaco
Captain Axel Disasi struck an added-time winner from range as Monaco edged out Leverkusen on a night of stunning goals in Germany. An own goal by Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky early on was cancelled out by Moussa Diaby's smart finish. Florian Wirtz beat three men to put the home side ahead, only for Krépin Diatta and Disasi to both find the net from distance.
Did you know?
Monaco have scored 23 goals in their last seven fixtures in all competitions.
Sevilla 3-0 PSV
Lucas Ocampos came off the bench to score one and create another as Sevilla took control of the tie. Youssef En-Nesyri turned in Jesús Navas' low cross in first-half added time and the Spanish side then raced away. Ocampos was introduced at the interval and scored a superb second before teeing up Nemanja Gudelj for the third goal with a classy back-heel.
Did you know?
Ocampos' goal was his first in European competition in almost exactly a year – his previous strike being in a 3-1 win against Dinamo Zagreb on 17 February 2022.
Salzburg 1-0 Roma
Nicolás Capaldo's emphatic 88th-minute header gave Salzburg a hard-earned victory over UEFA Europa Conference League holders Roma. Goalkeeper Philipp Köhn was the hosts' saviour, keeping out Tammy Abraham's close-range drive in the first half and clawing substitute Andrea Belotti's late strike against the underside of his crossbar before Capaldo's clincher.
Did you know?
Roma failed to score for the first time in 34 UEFA club competition matches.
What are the knockout round play-offs?
There are 16 teams involved in the UEFA Europa League knockout round play-offs: 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 are played over two legs and will conclude 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 for this); the eight play-off losers will no longer be involved in 2022/23 European competition.