EUROPA League
LIVE – EUROPA LEAGUE: SEVILLA 2-1 MANCHESTER UNITED- Odion Ighalo in
FULL-TIME: Sevilla 2-1 Manchester United
Manchester United are out of the Europa League
Manchester United have scored twice or more in 15 of their last 21 games. They need another one now!Substitution
Ighalo (in) – Greenwood (out) (Man. United).
+6 Added time
Sevilla 2-1 Manchester United
90min: United have six minutes to find an equaliser to this goal (below) that looks set to take Sevilla to the Europa League fina.
90 mins: Sevilla 2-1 Man. United
Substitution
88 mins: Fosu-Mensah (in) – Wan-Bissaka (out) (Man. United).
Sevilla 2-1 Manchester United
84min: There is a check for a United penalty after a foul inside the box, but it is quite rightly waved away as United begin to desperate.
GOAL! SEVILLA 2-1 Manchester United
78min: Luuk de Jong hasn’t scored in his last 11 games but he peels off Aaron Wan-Bissaka to tap home a half volley following a cross from the right. Poor defending from United who are in real danger of losing in the semi-finals for the third time this season.
GOAL! SEVILLA 2-1 Manchester United
Gooooal!
L. de Jong (Sevilla) scores!
Sevilla substitution
75min: A third change for Sevilla as goalscorer Suso departs to be replaced by Franco Vazquez.
70 mins: Odion Ighalo and two other players are warming up for United. The other two are Mata and Fosu-Mensah. Also three players are warming up for Sevilla.- Gudelj, Torres and Vázquez for Sevilla.
Sevilla 1-1 Manchester United
65min: Marcus Rashford is the latest Manchester United player booked, rather needlessly too as he sees yellow for bouncing the ball down in anger in a show of dissent after a throw in call goes against him.
Double Sevilla substitution
56min: Changes for Sevilla. Lucas Ocampos appears to have picked up a knock and he is replaced by Munir El Haddadi while Luuk de Jong, once of Newcastle United, comes on for Youssef En-Nesyri
A better statistic for United is that, before tonight, their last eight goals had been scored in either the second half or extra time.
Sevilla 1-1 Manchester United
47min: Big chance already for Manchester United! Bruno Fernandes finds Mason Greenwood with a ball over the top, but despite an excellent first touch from the striker inside the box, his finish is blocked by the charging Yassine Bounou out his goal.
The penalty kick scored by Bruno Fernandes in the 9th minute is Manchester United’s 22nd in all competitions this season. No other club in the top five leagues in Europe has been so blessed.
The penalty kick was also Manchester United’s fifth in the Europa League this season.
The referee blows for half-time.
United started the better and rewarded with the early penalty from Fernandes but Sevilla took advantage of their best spell when levelling through Suso. Since then, it has been more even but fiercely competitive and you would be hard pressed to pick a winner as it stands.
It’s half time
+2 Added time45′
45 mins: Rashford (Man. United) misses the target.
Fred and Williams work the ball out left where Rashford is in space. He cuts inside but shanks the shot harmlessly wide of the near post.
Sevilla 1-1 Manchester United
Pogba hasn’t been at his best so far, but the Frenchman did excellently to retrieve possession deep inside the United half before releasing Greenwood. Solskjær will hope there’s more to come from the midfielder in the second half.
38min: United now have a free-kick about 35 yards out following an Ever Banega foul. Marcus Rashford appears to be lining up a shot. Surely too far out?
Match summary
- United lead Sevilla in Cologne
- Bruno Fernandes scores from penalty
- Rashford fouled by Diego Carlos
- Winners face Inter/Shakhtar in final
- GOAL! Sevilla 0-1 MANCHESTER UNITED
GOAL! SEVILLA 1-1 Manchester United
26min: Slight controversy with this. United should have a throw in, but instead it goes to Sevilla who from the set-piece build an attack down the left with Sergio Reguilon crossing low for former Liverpool player Suso to divert home at the back post.
9min: I know Manchester United and constantly being awarded penalties has been a talking point thise season, but there was no debating the foul on Marcus Rashford and with a skip in his jump, Bruno Fernandes buries his spot-kick into the top corner.
9mins: PENALTY (Manchester United)
Marcus Rashford has a shot saved from point blank range by the keeper but he is brought down on the follow up by Diego Carlos.
KICK-OFF: Manchester United get the semi-final underway
Sevilla: Bounou, Jesus Navas, Kounde, Diego Carlos, Reguilon, Banega, Fernando, Jordan, Suso, En-Nesyri, Ocampos.
Subs: Vaclik, Sergi Gomez, Munir, Gudelj, Escudero, de Jong, Torres, Franco Vazquez, Alonso, Diaz, Genaro, Perez.
Man Utd: De Gea, Wan Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Williams, Fred, Greenwood, Bruno Fernandes, Pogba, Rashford, Martial.
Subs: Bailly, Mata, Grant, Lingard, Andreas Pereira, James, Romero, Fosu-Mensah, Ighalo, Matic, McTominay, Mengi.
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)
Will another Manchester club crumble tonight after last nights flop by Manchester City? Manchester United would have learnt a lesson or two from their city rivals as they engage La Liga side, Sevilla in today’s Europa League semi-finals.
Manchester United will be hoping for their second final appearance in the Europa Cup after their success four years ago.
But their Spanish opponents however have an incredible history in the competition going on to become its five-time record winners since first lifting the trophy as recently as 2006.
The clubs have been paired together in UEFA competition once previously, Sevilla knocking United out of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 two seasons ago thanks to a 2-1 win at Old Trafford after a first-leg goalless draw in southern Spain.
Solskjær on his team’s fitness levels ahead of United’s 61st game of the campaign: “We’ve had many days to prepare so that means it’s also a good recovery and we should be physically fresh. Mentally, of course, you’re physically ready for a game in the semi-final. Everyone wants to play it.”
Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time of assessment on March 1, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman, John Textor, owned a controlling stake in Palace.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League.
“After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the CAS said in a statement.
“The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not respond to a request for comment. Club chairman Steve Parish told reporters on Sunday that if Palace lost the appeal, they would “have to look if there’s any steps after that.”
The club, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings’ stake in Palace.
Textor has also resigned from Lyon’s board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League,” Lyon said in a statement.
Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday , beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
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UEFA has decided to postpone its assessment of the multi-club ownership case involving Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace until the French club’s relegation has been confirmed, European football’s governing body said on Monday.
The multi-club ownership regulations do not allow clubs under the same ownership compete in the same European competition, and American businessman John Textor holds a stake in both Palace and Lyon.
Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1 but have since been relegated to Ligue 2 by French football’s financial watchdog (DNCG).
Lyon are appealing the decision, which came following an audit of the club’s finances, and UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body will now await the outcome of the appeal before making its decision.
UEFA and Lyon reached a settlement agreement over the club’s breach of the financial sustainability requirements, and as part of the settlement, Lyon agreed to their exclusion from European competition should the DNCG confirm their relegation.
League of Ireland club Drogheda United lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this month over their exclusion from the Conference League, after falling foul of the multi-club ownership rules.
-Reuters
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