Agency Report –
Manchester United are in the Europa League semi-finals after Harry Maguire’s late goal secured them a dramatic 5-4 win on Thursday against 10-man Lyon in extra-time.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s dream of winning the Europa League title, meanwhile, is over after a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham.
United set up a semi-finals clash against Athletic Bilbao, who advanced after a 2-0 win against Rangers. Tottenham will face competition sensation Bodø/Glimt, who claimed a 3-2 win on penalties to oust Lazio
Magical evening at Old Trafford
Manuel Ugarte and Diego Dalot gave United a 2-0 lead in the first half. But the French side roared back with Nicolás Tagliafico and Corentin Tolisso to claim a 2-2 draw, the same scoring from the first leg, and force extra-time.
Lyon started extra-time with 10 men after Tolisso was sent off in the 89th, but still managed to turn the game around through Rayan Cherki and Alexandre Lacazette.
United, however, didn’t give up. Bruno Fernandes pulled one back from the spot and Kobbie Mainoo levelled the score – just a minute before Maguire’s header completed the fantastic victory.
“To go down 4-2 in extra-time to 10 men is not good enough, we opened ourselves too much. But we dug in and showed great spirit, that’s what this stadium does,” Maguire told TNT Sports.
No fairytale for Frankfurt
Frankfurt, the competition’s champions in 2022, came back from London with a 1-1 draw and all to play for at home.
But Dominic Solanke scored from the spot in the 43rd minute to give Tottenham the win and the spot in the semi-finals.
It was Solanke’s first goal in 12 matches and even though Tottenham missed opportunities after the break, they held on to earn a first last-four spot in this competition in 41 years.
Frankfurt suffered an early setback as Mario Götze was subbed off in the 17th with injury.
“Right now, it’s hard to take pride in our performance. I think, maybe, we’ll be able to do that in one or two days. At the moment, it’s just disappointing,” Frankfurt defender Robin Koch told UEFA.com.
Coach Dino Toppmöller, however, said that his players can be proud of themselves.
“It’s not just because of the two legs against Tottenham that I’m really proud of the guys. We are the youngest team in this competition. We had greats results, we grew as a team, we grew on an individual level. Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of it,” he said.
Bodø/Glimt continue sensational journey
Four-time Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt only claimed their maiden league title in 2020 and are trying to establish themselves among the European elite.
They have impressed in the Europa League and finished the league phase in ninth – barely missing the top eight and, therefore, direct qualification to the last 16.
The Norwegians travelled to Rome with a 2-0 advantage from the first leg, but goals from Taty Castellanos and an effort from Tijani Noslin in stoppage time gave Lazio 2-0 win in regular time and levelled the tie.
Lazio hit the net first in extra-time with Boulaye Dia in the 100th, but Andreas Helmersen pulled one back for Bodø/Glimt nine minutes later to take the decision to the shoot-out.
By Nathalia Araújo
