Man Utd reach the Europa League quarterfinals
Man Utd secures a spot in the quarterfinals of the Europa League after defeating Real Betis in both legs of the round of 16.
Man Utd entered the second leg of the Europa League round of 16 against Real Betis with a 1-0 advantage from the first leg. This gave the English representative a comfortable mindset. Manager Erik ten Hag did not use his strongest lineup for this match. The Dutch coach gave Facundo Pellistri, Tyrell Malacia, and Harry Maguire a chance to start.
Man Utd was on the back foot in the first half. Real Betis warned the away team with a shot hitting the post early in the game. The Spanish representative created a few threatening situations in the first half but only managed one shot on target.
Man Utd played cautiously and did not let the opponent create constant pressure. The away team’s rare chance in the first half was a shot hitting the post from Pellistri. The English team played better after the break. Man Utd switched to an attacking stance, making the match more exciting with continuous back-and-forth plays between the two teams.
After missing two opportunities, Marcus Rashford scored the opening goal in the 56th minute with a long-range shot. This was the English striker’s 27th goal of the season. In the last five years, no Man Utd player has scored more than 26 goals in a single season like Rashford. The goal dealt a heavy blow to the Real Betis’ spirit. They were not far behind in possession compared to their opponents (48%-52%) for the rest of the match, but they hardly had any noteworthy attacks.
On the other hand, Man Utd created a few more chances but did not capitalize successfully. Rashford’s goal was the only one of the second leg. Man Utd won 1-0 (5-1 on aggregate) and secured a spot in the Europa League quarterfinals.
- Result: Real Betis 0-1 Man Utd (aggregate score: 1-5)
Goal scorer - Man Utd: Rashford (56′)
Europa League results – Round of 16
- Fenerbahce 1-0 Sevilla
- Freiburg 0-2 Juventus
- Real Betis 0-1 Man Utd
- Feyenoord 7-1 Shakhtar Donetsk
- Gilloise 3-0 Union Berlin
- Ferrencvaros 0-2 Bayer Leverkusen
- Real Sociedad 0-0 AS Roma
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