Jamie Jackson was at Old Trafford. His report is in, so you know what to do: click and enjoy. That’s it for this Clocko. Thanks for reading! Nighty night.
So does a much happier Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. “You remember defeats more than wins. Especially semi-finals. We’ve had three of them, so this group feels hurt, and wants to go further. We are a group that’s very tight. We’ve had a few setbacks and knocks, but it lifts us, we want to go further. If you fail in three semis, you want to do better and improve. It’s exciting. It’s a group of players that will improve, because we’re still a young team.”
A very gracious Brendan Rodgers speaks to BT Sport. “I felt I picked a team that could win the game. But we didn’t create enough tonight, and didn’t defend with any intensity. So we gave away two disappointing goals. The best team won, the best team got through, and we just have to recover and get ready for the weekend. They play a man-marking style so you have to be patient. We got into some good areas but lacked quality when we got there. We didn’t have enough quality to break them down. I don’t want to give too many excuses, but you can see what we have, injury wise. However, I still expected us to show up more. There will be learning from it. Tonight we weren’t good enough, and when you’re not good enough at this level you’ll get punished. Good luck to Slavia in the next round.”
“I see Leicester brought on a midfielder called Tavares. If their centre-back can’t thread a pass through to him then Evans Must Be Missing An Angle.” Please be upstanding for David Griffiths, everyone. Speaking of Leicester’s meek exit, Paul Doyle witnessed it, and here’s his verdict.
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The full-time scores of the 8pm kick-offs.
- Leicester City 0-2 Slavia Prague (agg 0-2)
- Manchester United 0-0 Real Sociedad (4-0)
- Bayer Leverkusen 0-2 Young Boys (3-6)
- Club Brugge 0-1 Dynamo Kiev (1-2)
- Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Krasnodar (4-2)
- AC Milan 1-1 Red Star Belgrade (3-3; Milan win on away goals)
- PSV Eindhoven 2-1 Olympiakos (4-5)
- Roma 3-1 Braga (5-1)
FULL TIME: Manchester United 0-0 Real Sociedad (agg: 4-0)
A bit of a non-event at Old Trafford, but 17-year-old Shola Shoretire, now United’s youngest-ever representative in Europe, will remember it for ever. As may poor Axel Tuanzebe, whose first-ever senior goal was wiped out thanks to the antics of his slapstick partner Victor Lindelof.
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FULL TIME: Leicester City 0-2 Slavia Prague (agg: 0-2)
Slavia Prague run out worthy winners at the King Power. Leicester offered nothing. Brendan Rodgers is yet to crack the European code.
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GOAL! Roma 3-1 Braga (Mayoral 90); agg 5-1. Well that wasn’t much of a consolation, was it.
GOAL! Roma 2-1 Braga (Cristante og 87); agg 4-1. A late consolation for the Portuguese.
GOAL! PSV 2-1 Olympiacos (Kouka 88); agg 4-5. PSV were going through on away goals ... until Ahmed Hassan Kouka had his say.
GOAL! Club Brugge 0-1 Dynamo Kiev (Buyalsky 83); agg 1-2. Have the Ukrainian giants won it at the death?
GOAL! Bayer Leverkusen 0-2 Young Boys (Fassnacht 86); agg 3-6. Young Boys never lose it / Young boys always shiii-iii-iiine!
86 min: Slavia have done a proper number on Leicester here. Kolar has been barely troubled in their goal. “I played in a Neil Young covers band (two gigs) called Neil Young Boys,” writes/admits Jon Collin. “We’ll reform if the price is right.” Anyone interested should contact the Guardian in the first instance. We’ll take no more than 15%.
GOAL! Roma 2-0 Braga (Perez 74); agg 4-0. A breeze for the Giallorossi.
GOAL! Leicester City 0-2 Slavia Prague (Sima 79); agg 0-2
It looks like Slavia Prague have made it to the last 16. Abdallah Sima drops a shoulder, nudges the ball to his right, and whistles an unstoppable shot into the bottom right from 25 yards. Such a lovely strike, and Brendan Rodgers’ continental misery looks set to last another year.
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77 min: A little bit of history is made at Old Trafford, where Shola Shoretire, 17 years and 23 days old, replaces Mason Greenwood. He becomes the youngest player to represent Manchester United in Europe, beating a long-standing record held since the early 1980s by Norman Whiteside (17 years, 131 days).
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75 min: Leicester still haven’t forced Slavia Prague keeper Kolar into action. “Could you help with some academic research via your readers, both of them in fact?” asks Graham Moger, the old charmer. “Am I the only one who uncontrollably blurts out ‘Young Boys!’ in the style of the Village People, every time I see the team name in print? The crux of my research paper will indicate I’m not alone in that habit.” I’m more of a mid-era Duran Duran man myself.
71 min: Marko Gobeljic of Red Star Belgrade has been sent packing after picking up a second yellow in Milan. His team are currently going out on away goals, the tie delicately poised at 3-3 on aggregate. Stating the obvious, but that isn’t going to help, is it.
70 min: Leicester continue to huff and puff. Brendan Rodgers can boast a fine domestic record, with positive contributions made at Swansea, Liverpool, Celtic and now Leicester. But he’s been conspicuously poor in Europe so far. Can his side help him buck a miserable continental trend?
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67 min: Martial swans in from the left and sends a pearler towards the top right. Just over. That was such a sweet strike.
NO GOAL! Manchester United 0-0 Real Sociedad; agg 4-0
It’s a no-brainer of a decision. Poor Tuanzebe has the first senior goal of his career disallowed, thanks to the needlessly aggressive intervention of his defensive partner. Just a booking for Lindelof, which is probably right, it was clumsy rather than anything else, but you could certainly make an argument for his dismissal. Somewhere in the multiverse, Sociedad scored their penalty and United are down to nine men.
64 min: But this might be chalked off, because Lindelof has clumsily leapt into Bautista. Leaping high and out of control, his knee whacks into the poor guy’s startled coupon!
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GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Real Sociedad (Tuanzebe 63); agg 5-0
Tuanzebe rises highest at a corner to plant a glorious header into the top left. It’s his first senior goal!
63 min: Barnes has a first gander down the left, but goes nowhere. Slavia remain in total control.
60 min: Leicester get themselves some of that sweet triple-sub action. Albrighton, Amartey and Choudhury are replaced by Barnes, Ricardo and Castagne. Might as well roll the dice, with two goals required in the next half-hour.
59 min: So here comes 18-year-old Amad Diallo, making his first appearance at Old Trafford. James trudges off shaking his head sadly.
58 min: The in-form Dan James is down, clutching his calf. Looks like his evening is about to come to an end. “There’s a lot to be said for placing curses on football clubs,” begins Ian Burch, with reference to the earlier entry regarding Benfica banjaxer Bela Guttmann. “As legend has it, Birmingham City had a curse put on them back in 1906 which they’ve been trying to lift ever since. Former manager Ron Saunders supposedly had crucifixes placed on the floodlights while Barry Fry decided to do his bit to set things right by watering the corner flags in a way which possibly only Barry Fry and Aston Villa fans could think of doing. The curse was supposed to last for 100 years, but it doesn’t look like ending anytime soon.”
55 min: United made a triple change at half-time, by the way, Bruno Fernandes finally getting some well-deserved rest. On come Rashford, Williams and Tuanzebe; Fred and Wan-Bissaka are the other two chaps to give way.
GOAL! Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 Young Boys (Siebatcheu 47); agg 3-5. Just like Leicester, Leverkusen now need two goals to progress.
52 min: United should be down to ten. Williams, having just been booked, sticks his studs onto the top of Merino’s boot. It’s clumsy rather than malicious, but nevertheless the young full-back is fortunate not to be walking.
50 min: Meanwhile at Old Trafford, there’s action at both ends, Rashford inches away from steering a free kick into the bottom right, Sagnan planting a header onto the United crossbar.
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GOAL! Leicester City 0-1 Slavia Prague (Provod 48); agg 0-1
Slavia come again down the left. A deep cross by Stanciu. Provod is unmarked at the far post. He meets the dropping ball sweetly, sweeping into the bottom right. That’s a fantastic goal, though Leicester’s central defenders had gone AWOL.
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The second halves are underway. Almost immediately at the King Power there’s an almighty scramble in the Leicester box, Slavia Prague coming out of the blocks at pace. The hosts clear. But ...
Half-time entertainment. It’s been a good couple of days for the Light Blues, hasn’t it.
GOAL! JUST BEFORE HALF-TIME! PSV 2-0 Olympiacos (Zahavi 44); agg 4-4. Eran Zahavi scores his second of the evening, and it means his team go in ahead on away goals. So the half-times in the 8pm kick-offs look like this:
- Leicester City 0-0 Slavia Prague (agg: 0-0)
- Manchester United 0-0 Real Sociedad (4-0)
- Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Young Boys (3-4)
- Club Brugge 0-0 Dynamo Kiev (1-1)
- Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Krasnodar (4-2)
- AC Milan 1-1 Red Star Belgrade (3-3)
- PSV Eindhoven 2-0 Olympiakos (4-4)
- Roma 1-0 Braga (3-0)
HALF TIME: Leicester City 0-0 Slavia Prague (agg 0-0)
Someone will need to do something at some point.
HALF TIME: Manchester United 0-0 Real Sociedad (agg 4-0)
La Real have had their chances to reduce the deficit and start dreaming about achieving the seemingly impossible. Most notably captain Mikel Oyarzabal’s absurd penalty. But here we are.
45 min: More Leicester irritation, as Choudhury goes over a non-existent leg and claims a penalty he’s never going to get.
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42 min: Choudhury sends Vardy scampering into space down the left flank at the King Power. An opening to shoot doesn’t present itself, though, and Vardy ends up scooping harmlessly into Kolar’s arms from the tightest of angles. He boots the hoardings in frustration, a result of Leicester’s inability to get going this evening.
40 min: Nothing to report. Arsenal and Rangers spoiled us earlier.
37 min: Brendan Rodgers begins to chew his gum with Allardycian ferocity, as his Foxes continue to toil. “That penalty, eh!” begins Justin Kavanagh. “Oyarzabal looked like a man swaggering up to the bar to chat up Penelope Cruz … and tripping on his own shoelaces.” It definitely had more than a bit of classic sitcom-style ineptitude about it, like Del Boy falling through the bar, or Mainwaring inadvertently shopping Pike. Perhaps manager Imanol Alguacil should have arrived, stage left, and thrashed him with the branch of a tree.
GOAL! Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Krasnodar (Orsic 31); agg 4-2. Mislav Orsic gives the Croatians a cushion against the side from southern Russia.
30 min: Leicester need to pick it up a bit. This tie, the first leg of which finished goalless in Prague, already has the gamey whiff of extra-time and penalties.
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GOAL! AC Milan 1-1 Red Star Belgrade (Ben 24); agg 3-3
GOAL! PSV 1 -0 Olympiacos (Zahavi 23); agg 3-4
GOAL! Roma 1-0 Braga (Dzeko 23); agg 3-0
A flurry of goals in ties that are in differing states of order and disorder.
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24 min: Bruno Fernandes, racing onto a Greenwood pull-back down the right, nearly recreates his astonishing goal against Everton the other week. A power curl towards the top left from 25 yards that pings off the crossbar and away. It’s not difficult to work out why Solskjaer wants to play him all the time; it’s just questionable whether he should, four goals up and all.
Meanwhile, golf and Scottish football’s Ewan Murray rounded off a busy 24 hours with a trip to Ibrox. Here’s his verdict on another rollercoaster ride for the Teddy Bears.
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Nick Ames’ report on Arsenal’s last-gasp victory over Benfica has landed. Here ‘tis.
19 min: Still fairly quiet on the east-midland front. Meanwhile back at Old Trafford, United continue to find themselves pinned back. Sociedad are stroking it around very nicely, the former United starlet Januzaj the latest to cause the hosts’ rickety defence some problems, swanning in from the right flank and nearly finding one of the three team-mates in the box.
15 min: And the thing is, La Real could have scored three already. in the immediate aftermath of his embarrassing penalty miss, Oyarzabal rolls a delicious ball through the six-yard box from the left. Lindelof hooks clear just in time, with players waiting at the far post to tap home. Then Guevara creams a shot inches wide of the top right. It’s a good start from the Basques, with one fairly obvious caveat.
13 min: PREPOSTEROUS PENALTY MISS AT OLD TRAFFORD! James concedes it, clumsily clipping Gorosabel, who was going nowhere. But no matter! Oyarzabal takes a Fernandesesque skip before taking the spot kick, and wedges it disgracefully high and wide left. Bruno makes it look easier than it actually is.
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GOAL! AC Milan 1-0 Red Star Belgrade (Kessie pen 9). So having said that, Milan score the first goal of the evening kick-offs. They lead 3-2 on aggregate.
9 min: No early goals anywhere, in fact. Probably just as well, given the breathless end to the Arsenal game. Need some time to recover. Poor old Benfica, though. Yet another year without a European trophy for the two-time European Cup winners. Bela Guttmann will be up there laughing.
7 min: How about those Rangers, though, huh, Peter Oh? “Rangers needed to work 9-5! What a way to make a livin’!” He’s only doing it so you don’t have to.
5 min: Nothing of note has happened at Old Trafford yet. Time to ponder, then, on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s slightly strange decision to select Bruno Fernandes, who has clocked up the miles since joining last January and could surely do with a rest. Ruth Purdue elaborates: “So when Fernandes breaks down due to fatigue later on in the season, again, maybe, just maybe the manager will learn his lesson on managing workloads.”
2 min: Leicester have started quickly at the King Power. A fine run down the right by Under. He tees up Soyuncu who spoons over. Then Vardy embarks on a busy run down the inside-left channel, only for his shot to be blocked.
Yep, Napoli’s goose is indeed cooked. The game ends 2-1, and that means Granada Club de Futbol win 3-2 on aggregate.
Thanks Ben. News of Napoli-Granada when we have it ... but unless something positively psychedelic happens in the eighth minute of injury time, the Italian giants are heading out. Meanwhile the teams are out in Manchester and Leicester. We’ll be off in a minute. A quick reminder of where the 8pm kick-offs stand after the first leg:
- Leicester City v Slavia Prague (0-0 agg)
- Manchester United v Real Sociedad (4-0)
- Bayer Leverkusen v Young Boys (3-4)
- Club Brugge v Dynamo Kiev (1-1)
- Dinamo Zagreb v Krasnodar (3-2)
- AC Milan v Red Star Belgrade (2-2)
- PSV Eindhoven v Olympiakos (2-4)
- Roma v Braga (2-0)
Napoli v Granada (2-3 on agg) are into seven minutes of second-half stoppage time. Scott Murray will bring you the full-time result from that one, plus stay tuned for Leicester and Manchester United, of course ...
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Full-time results
Arsenal 3-2 Benfica (4-3 on agg)
Hoffenheim 0-2 Molde (3-5)
Ajax 2-1 Lille (4-2)
Napoli 2-1 Granada (1-3)
Rangers 5-2 Antwerp (9-5)
Shakhtar D 1-0 M Tel Aviv (3-0)
Villareal 2-1 Salzburg (4-1)
Full-time: Rangers 5-2 Antwerp (9-5 agg)
Another entertaining game for Steven Gerrard and co.
Full-time: Arsenal 3-2 Benfica (4-3 agg)
Arsenal advance to the last 16!
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GOAL! Hoffenheim 0-2 Molde (Ulland-Andersen, 90)
GOAL! Rangers 5-2 Antwerp (Itten pen, 90)
Home and dry at Ibrox.
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Full-time: Shakhtar Donetsk 1-0 M Tel Aviv (3-0 agg)
90 min: ... there will be four added minutes in Athens ...
90 min: Into stoppage time in Arsenal v Benfica ...
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GOAL! Villareal 2-1 Salzburg (Moreno pen, 89)
The La Liga side inch in front on the night.
89 min: Arsenal send on Calum Chambers and Mohamed Elneny in place of Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka.
GOAL! Ajax 2-1 Lille (Neres, 88)
David Neres strikes!
88 min: Arsenal, as it stands, are heading through to the last 16 with Rangers, who are cruising against Antwerp in another goal-fest.
GOAL! Arsenal 3-2 Benfica (Aubameyang, 87)
What were you all worrying about? Aubameyang heads in Saka’s wonderful cross. Aubameyang cannot miss at the back post. The VAR checks for offside but the goal stands.
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86 min: Tierney crosses from the left but Benfica wallop it clear. Benfica break on the counter but back come Arsenal ...
85 min: Benfica bring on Nuno Tavares in place of Grimaldo, who takes an age to trudge off the pitch ...
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84 min: ... Arsenal need a goal to save their season ...
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82 min: Arsenal need a goal to stay in the competition ...
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GOAL! Rangers 4-2 Antwerp (Barisic pen, 79)
Looking very good. Rangers lead 8-5 on aggregate.
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80 min: Scott Arfield is on for Ianis Hagi at Ibrox. Rangers looking good to advance to the last 16. They lead 7-5 on aggregate ...
GOAL! Ajax 1-1 Lille (Yazici pen, 78)
Yusuf Yazici hammers in from 12 yards.
77 min: Benfica gift possession to Arsenal, with Helton’s clearance closed down by Aubameyang. The ball runs kindly for Saka but the winger skews an effort wide. Always rising. Lacazette enters in place of Héctor Bellerín as Arsenal chase a late winner.
75 min: Here comes Alexandre Lacazette ... stripped and readied.
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72 min: So, Bruno Fernandes starts for Manchester United. That game gets under way at 8pm (GMT) and Scott Murray will guide you through all the key moments. First, a stat via Opta: since the start of last season, only Fernandes (10) has scored more Europa League goals than Rangers’ Alfredo Morelos (nine, excluding qualifiers).
69 min: Willian had a hand in the Arsenal equaliser, teeing up Tierney strike. He came on seconds after Arsenal fell behind, with Mikel Arteta hooking Dani Ceballos, who was at fault for both goals. Thomas Partey has also entered, coming on in place of the quiet Emile Smith Rowe.
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GOAL! Shakhtar 1-0 M Tel Aviv (Moraes pen, 68)
Deadlock broken!
GOAL! Arsenal 2-2 Benfica (Tierney, 67)
Game on! Kieran Tierney sends a left-foot bullet into the bottom corner after Willian, a substitute a moment ago, cut the ball back for the marauding defender. Tierney immediately waves his team-mates back to try and get another one. They need another goal because, as it stands, Benfica would prevail on away goals.
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GOAL! Napoli 2-1 Granada (Fabian Ruiz, 59)
A delightful player, and potentially a big goal.
Man Utd v Sociedad team news
Manchester United: Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Bailly, Telles, Fred, Matic, James, Fernandes, Greenwood, Martial
Subs: De Gea, Grant, Bishop, Maguire, Rashford, Diallo, Shaw, Williams, Tuanzeba, Galbraith, Shoretire.
Real Sociedad: Remiro, Gorosabel, Zubeldia, Sagnan, Munoz, Zubimendi, Guevara, Merino, Januzaj, Isak, Oyarzabal
Subs: Portu, Merquelanz, Monreal, Barrenetxea, Bautista, Lopez, Marrero, Gonzalez, Ruiz, Guridi
Referee: Lawrence Visser (Belgium).
No rest for po’ Bruno Fernandes, which seems kind of odd, given United are four goals up after the first leg. He gets thrown the captain’s armband, with Harry Maguire rested and replaced by Eric Bailly. David de Gea makes way for Dean Henderson between the sticks, while Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford step aside for Alex Telles and Mason Greenwood. Scott Murray
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63 min: Benfica lead 3-2 on aggregate!
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GOAL! Arsenal 1-2 Benfica (Rafa Silva, 61)
A defensive nightmare for Arsenal. Benfica welly the ball upfield from goal after an Arsenal corner ... Dani Ceballos inadvertently flicks the ball on – it is a dreadful, blind header – allowing the Benfica striker to surge through on goal. Leno rushes out to the D, Rafa Silva skips around him and taps into an empty net. Arsenal will need two goals to go through. Mountain-to-climb territory.
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GOAL! Rangers 3-2 Antwerp (Lamkel Ze, 57)
It is raining goals at Ibrox. 7-5 on aggregate!
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57 min: Benfica make changes. Gabriel replaces Seferovic and Everton is on for Pizzi, one of their more lively players.
GOAL! Rangers 3-1 Antwerp (Kent, 55)
Steven Gerrard promised they would go for the jugular and they now have a 7-4 lead. Ryan Kent, who teed up Morelos for the opener, strikes and surely Rangers are heading into the last 16?
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54 min: Patterson was in the doghouse last week but that strike gives Rangers a bit of breathing space on the night. They lead Antwerp 6-4 on aggregate with half-hour or so to play. Patterson, Bongani Zungu, and Calvin Bassey, all of whom started among the substitutes this evening, completed a period of self isolation after attending a party this month. The group were fined by the club, who were also in dialogue with the Scottish FA and government about the incident.
Leicester v Slavia Prague teams
Leicester City: Schmeichel, Amartey, Evans, Soyuncu, Thomas, Tielemans, Ndidi, Albrighton, Choudhury, Under, Vardy
Subs: Ward, Barnes, Ricardo Pereira, Mendy, Castagne, Fuchs, Jakupovic, Leshabela, Tavares, Flynn.
Slavia Prague: Kolar, Bah, Kudela, Zima, Boril, Hromada, Sima, Stanciu, Provod, Olayinka, Kuchta
Subs: Deli, Stejskal, Holes, Dorley, Traore, Masopust, Kovar, Lingr, Visinsky
Referee: Serdar Gozubuyuk (Netherlands)
Leicester name a strong side, with Jamie Vardy up top. There are four changes to the XI that started the win over Aston Villa: Daniel Amartey, Hamza Choudhury, Marc Albrighton and Cengiz Under step up, while Harvey Barnes, Ricardo Pereira and Timothy Castagne drop to the bench; James Maddison is out with a hip problem. Scott Murray
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50 min: Aubameyang has the ball in the net ... but the striker strays offside before dinking the ball in. This time it was Odegaard who slipped in the captain but otherwise it was almost a carbon copy of the Arsenal opener. There is a VAR check, but he is ruled offside.
GOAL! Rangers 2-1 Antwerp (Patterson, 46)
An inspired half-time substitution! Nathan Patterson, who replaced Leon Balogun at the interval, pounces in the box. It is a redemption story of sorts too, given Patterson was one of three Rangers players forced to quarantine after breaking Covid-19 rules.
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The second halves are almost upon us. Bjorn Kuipers is ready to get things started in Athens – no changes for Arsenal or Benfica at the break. My colleague, Paul Bellsham points out one oddity ... both teams are carrying the same shirt sponsor: Emirates.
Half-time scores
Arsenal 1-1 Benfica (2-2 on agg)
Hoffenheim 0-1 Molde (3-4)
Ajax 1-0 Lille (3-1)
Napoli 1-1 Granada (1-3)
Rangers 1-1 Antwerp (5-4)
Shakhtar D 0-0 M Tel Aviv (2-0)
Villareal 1-1 Salzburg (3-1)
45+1 min: ... Arsenal look rattled by that equaliser.
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45 min: Benfica are hunting for a second before the break ...
GOAL! Arsenal 1-1 Benfica (Goncalves, 43)
A belting free-kick! Diogo Goncalves bends a wonderful right-footed strike into the top corner, and postage-stamp territory. Ceballos was penalised for fouling Weigl. Benfica had not penetrated much but a sloppy foul – and an exquisite free-kick – gives them a route back in.
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41 min: Saka goes close! Ceballos slips in the winger and he gets a shot away ... but the goalkeeper Helton is alert and makes a fine save. It looked as though it may have been chalked offside anyway.
GOAL! Villareal 1-1 Salzburg (Moreno, 40)
The La Liga side open up a 3-1 lead on aggregate.
38 min: Saka is looking really bright for Arsenal. He jinks away from one Benfica shirt and then debates taking on another but plays in Smith Rowe. Saka then spurts off, making a clever run into the box, but Smith Rowe doesn’t spot him and the chance evaporates.
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33 min: Jan Vertonghen raises the Arsenal alarm, heading over after beating David Luiz to a free-kick from the right. It loops harmlessly over in the end but Arsenal looked panicked for a moment.
GOAL! Rangers 1-1 Antwerp (Refaelov, 31)
Ah. Rangers’ lead is not quite so insurmountable now. They are up 5-4 on aggregate with an hour to play at Ibrox. Jordan Lukaku picks out Lior Refaelov with smart pass, and he latches on to it inside the box and beats the goalkeeper.
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30 min: Arsenal win a free-kick just inside their own half. So far, so good. Since the start of last season, Bukayo Saka has provided more assists in all competitions than any other Arsenal player (17).
GOAL! Napoli 1-1 Granada (Montoro, 25)
The La Liga side level things up.
24 min: Dani Ceballos takes aim from 25-30 yards but gets it all wrong and it screws wide. Arsenal lead 2-1 on aggregate!
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GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Benfica (Aubameyang, 21)
Who else? Aubameyang clips the ball over Hélton and it is a delightful finish – but it is all about the vision of the brilliant Bukayo Saka. The youngster spies Aubameyang’s run and slips a ball into the Arsenal captain, who dinks the ball over the Benfica goalkeeper. There was a VAR check for offside – and it was tight – but the goal is given. It was an incisive attack, all very Arsenal. That should settle any nerves. They’re in the box seat now.
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GOAL! Hoffenheim 0-1 Molde (Ulland-Andersen, 20)
Molde lead!
GOAL! Villareal 0-1 Salzburg (Berisha, 17)
Mergim Berisha strikes! But they still trail 2-1 on aggregate.
GOAL! Ajax 1-0 Lille (Klaassen, 15)
Davy Klaassen gives Ajax the lead, the former Everton midfielder heading in from Dusan Tadic’s cross.
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15 min: Benfica work the ball down the left flank and into Seferovic, who is in space and able to get a shot away ... but he scuffs his effort and it drags across the box. There was no one in support but the striker should have at least tested Leno there.
12 min: Benfica break through Goncalves down the right flank after Taarabt sprays a pass wide. Arsenal cut the ball out near the penalty spot. They have seen plenty of the ball but Benfica have been compact and fairly mean opponents.
GOAL! Rangers 1-0 Antwerp (Morelos, 9)
That’s a big goal for Rangers. They now lead 5-3 on aggregate. Ryan Kent, leading the charge, wins the ball back in the Antwerp box before cutting back for Morelos to do the rest. Dream start at Ibrox.
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7 min: The more you see that Taarabt crunch on Gabriel, the worse it looks. It was a crude challenge and perhaps the Moroccan was fortunate to escape with just a booking, let off the hook given it was in the opening blows.
GOAL! Napoli 1-0 Granada (Zielinski, 4)
The Serie A side lead. Game on!
4 min: Taarabt gives Gabriel a bump and the Arsenal defender is not best pleased. The former Spurs midfielder is booked for a poor challenge, with his left boot planting on top of the Brazilian’s ankle.
3 min: Bernd Leno makes his 100th appearance for Arsenal this evening becoming the fifth German player to reach the milestone for the club. The others? Jens Lehmann (200), Per Mertesacker (221) Mesut Ozil (254) and Shkodran Mustafi (151). Leno has had nothing to do so far this evening. Arsenal, dominating possession, have made an encouraging start.
1 min: A bit of Arsenal-related news as Mikel Arteta’s side stride through midfield early on in Athens through Ceballos.
Peeeeeeeeep!
We’re under way in Athens, at Ibrox, and beyond!
A gentle reminder that Arsenal, despite flying four hours east to Athens, are at ‘home’ this evening. Away goals still count.
Arsenal team news: Kieran Tierney is in at left-back to replace Cedric Soares but the midfielder Thomas Partey is back on the bench after recovering from a hamstring problem. The 18-year-old Karl Jakob Hein is among two goalkeepers on the Arsenal bench. The former Spurs midfielder Adel Taarabt starts for Benfica.
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Rangers team news: Nathan Patterson, Calvin Bassey and Bongani Zungu have rejoined Steven Gerrard’s squad after being forced to quarantine having breached Covid-19 rules. Captain – and talisman – James Tavernier and striker Kemar Roofe remain out injured.
Essential pre-match reading:
The teams!
Arsenal v Benfica
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Leno; Bellerin, David Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney; Ceballos, Xhaka; Ødegaard, Smith Rowe, Saka; Aubameyang
Subs: Ryan, Hein, Cedric, Chambers, Pablo Mari, Elneny, Partey, Willian, Pepe, Nketiah, Martinelli, Lacazette
Benfica (5-4-1): Hélton; Diogo Gonçalves, Vertonghen, Otamendi, Veríssimo, Grimaldo; Rafa Silva, Weigl, Pizzi, Taarabt; Seferovic
Subs: Svilar, Odysseas, Gilberto, Nuno Tavares, Everton, Gabriel, Chiquinho, Pedrinho, Cervi, Waldschmidt, Gonçalo Ramos, Darwin
Rangers v Antwerp
Rangers (4-3-3): McGregor; Balogun, Goldson, Helander, Barisic; Kamara, Davis, Aribo; Kent, Morelos, Hagi
Subs: McLaughlin, Zungu, Bassey, Patterson, Simpson, Wright, Stewart, Arfield, King, Itten
Antwerp (4-4-2): De Wolf; De Laet, Gelin, Le Marchand, Buta; Gerkens, Verstraete, Hongla, Lukaku; Refaelov, Lamkel Ze
Subs: Beiranvand, Thiam, Boya, Miyoshi, Ampomah, Pavlic, Van den Bosch, Avenatti
Updated
Preamble
It never stops, does it? After Manchester City made winning in Europe look worryingly look easy, no doubt Arsenal and Rangers will do their best to make a pig’s ear of the respective tasks facing them. Later tonight, Scott Murray will guide you through the going-ons at Old Trafford, the King Power Stadium and beyond.
Not one to up the ante or to indulge in hyperbole, Mikel Arteta has only gone and described their ‘home’ match against Benfica akin to a final. They drew the first leg in Rome and will now do battle in Athens, hoping to secure a spot in the last 16. Winning the Europa League is Arsenal’s best hope of qualifying for the Champions League after a run of two wins in six Premier League games has left them languishing in mid-table, 11 points off the top four.
Rangers, by comparison, are laughing. And not only because Neil Lennon has walked, with Steven Gerrard’s side on the brink of the Scottish title and unbeaten in 30 league games. Their first leg against Antwerp was a belter – a 4-3 win after they trailed with 10 minutes to go – but Gerrard just wants them to get the job done, whether it is another thriller or not. “We’re at home, we’re not going to sit and wait and protect,” he said. “This is our home and we want to show everyone how difficult it is to play against us.”
5.55pm kick-offs (GMT)
Ajax v Lille (2-1 agg)
Napoli v Granada (0-2)
Shakhtar D v M Tel Aviv (2-0)
Rangers v Antwerp (4-3)
Arsenal v Benfica (1-1)
Hoffenheim v Molde (3-3)
Villareal v Salzburg (2-0)
8pm kick-offs (GMT)
Leicester v Slavia Prague (0-0 agg)
Milan v Red Star Belgrade (2-2)
Club Brugge v Dynamo Kiev (1-1)
Manchester United v R Sociedad (4-0)
Roma v Braga (2-0)
Bayer Leverkusen v Young Boys (3-4)
Dinamo Zagreb v Krasnodar (3-2)
PSV Eindhoven v Olympiakos (2-4)
