Olympiakos 1-3 Arsenal
Read Nick Ames’s match report:
Tottenham 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Read David Hytner’s match report:
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Arsenal host Tottenham at the Emirates on Sunday. That will be good, won’t it? Both clubs have one foot in the quarter-finals after tonight. It was fairly routine for Spurs, for whom Harry Kane was at the double, but Arsenal had to dig a little deeper to prevail.
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Full-time: Olympiakos 1-3 Arsenal
They made hard work of it but Arsenal got there in the end, courtesy of goals by Odegaard, Gabriel and the substitute Mohamed Elneny. Three away goals feels a significant takeaway and they look well-placed to advance to the quarter-finals. They could do without the occasional wild moments of self-sabotage but Arteta will be delighted with the result.
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Full-time: Tottenham 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Harry Kane’s 25th and 26th goals of the season get the job done.
Full-time: Roma 3-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
A comfortable night for the Serie A side.
Full-time: Granada 2-0 Molde
Roberto Soldado was on the scoresheet as the La Liga club overcame 10-man Molde, who had Martin Ellingsen sent off.
88 min: Lacazette replaces Aubameyang. Job done.
87 min: It is probably immaterial now but an email from earlier regarding that Olympiakos leveller. “I think that’s harsh on Ceballos,” writes Michael Gibson. “Leno was clueless in passing out to him when he had two opposition players around him and who closed him down immediately. My 11-year-old son left the room muttering “not again” to himself when that went in. Arsenal allegedly kept Leno over Martinez due to him superior ball playing skills. Not much evidence of that recently.” Anyway, hopefully Gibson Jnr is back watching the telly now ...
GOAL! Olympiakos 1-3 Arsenal (Elneny, 85)
And now Arsenal are laughing. Elneny thumps in from distance! He strides forward unopposed and smashes a right-footed shot in off a post from 25 yards. The Olympiakos goalkeeper gets fingertips to it but it’s not enough.
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82 min: While Gabriel’s goal was being reviewed, Arteta made a triple change: Elneny for Willian. Smith Rowe for Ødegaard. Pepe for Saka.
81 min: The referee Daniel Siebert dishes out a yellow card to someone on the Olympiakos bench ... but the goal stands!
GOAL! Olympiakos 1-2 Arsenal (Gabriel, 80)
A thumping header restores Arsenal’s lead! Willian plays a short corner and then hangs a cross towards the back post, where Gabriel makes a monstrous run and powers a header back across goal. Brilliant header. And now Arsenal have two away goals. That Arsenal cock-up might be forgotten about, after all.
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77 min: Roma lead Shakhtar 3-0! Gianluca Mancini strikes.
76 min: Olympiakos replace goalscorer El Arabi with the Egypt international Ahmed Hassan. Arsenal are readying Mohamed Elneny ...
73 min: Roma and Granada have both doubled their advantage and look to have one foot in the quarter-finals! The Serie A club lead Shakhtar 2-0 and the La Liga side are two goals to the good against Molde.
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GOAL! Tottenham 2-0 Dinamo Zagreb (Kane, 70)
Harry Kane makes it 26 goals for the season! Super finish and now Spurs can relax a little. Hojbjerg is on for Ndombele.
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67 min: El Arabi drills just wide! Olympiakos go close to doubling their advantage and Arsenal look to be on the ropes ...
66 min: “I thought Arteta was supposed to have improved the defence?” asks Stewart Pearce, via email. “And in how many games has Ceballos now made a mistake leading directly to a goal?” On the last point, it is not good reading for the Spaniard; no player has made more errors leading to goals in the Europa League this season than Ceballos (two), with his two errors coming in Arsenal’s last two games. A penny for Sokratis’s thoughts tonight ...
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65 min: In Piraeus, Olympiakos make another change: Bruma is replaced by Lazar Randjelovic and the Greek side suddenly look as though they fancy completing the job against Arsenal.
64 min: Gareth Bale enters in place of Lamela at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Spurs are looking good but Petkovic has just passed up a decent chance from inside the box. Bergwijn is also being readied.
61 min: Nine games on the spin without a clean sheet for Arsenal. That was simply just a dreadful goal to concede, in effect an own goal. And it has given Olympiakos a little boost to boot.
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GOAL! Olympiakos 1-1 Arsenal (El Arabi, 58)
Oh dear, this is a shocker from Arsenal. David Luiz may have got off the hook in the first half but Dani Ceballos gets caught in possession after being fed out from defence from Leno, El Arabi pickpockets the substitute and it is another self-inflicted wound for Mikel Arteta’s side to contend with. El Arabi bends a fine strike into the corner but that was an excruciating goal from an Arsenal perspective. Arsenal’s risk is Olympiakos’s reward.
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56 min: Dani Ceballos replaces Thomas Partey.
52 min: The officials are having none of it. In Piraeus, it is all a bit predictable – essentially Tierney and Bellerin are having a ball marauding down the flanks. “The joy of David Luiz is that he can do just about anything,” begins Matt Dony on email. “He has the building blocks of an extravagantly gifted footballer inside him, wasted in defence in many ways. But at the same time, it is impossible to know what he will actually do at any given moment. Elegantly Cruyff turn his way out of his own penalty box? Possibly. Gift possession to the opposition by falling over? Just as likely. Hit a shot from 40 yards with even more venom than Odegaard’s effort? It could happen. Scythe through a striker with his studs knee high? Sure. Stand on a bunch of rakes? Well, now, that’s just childish ...”
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51 min: ... Majer did not appear to get any contact with the ball. Will the VAR intervene and award Spurs a penalty?
50 min: At Spurs, Tanguy Ndombele goes down in the box after going a mazy run. It is a tackle from Lovro Majer that has sent him tumbling. The referee says no but the VAR may take an interest in this ...
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48 min: Olympiakos are enjoying some early possession, with Holebas marauding forward from the left flank. The difference between the teams is that Odegaard goal, which left the goalkeeper in a very, er, strange position ...
*record scratch*
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) March 11, 2021
*freeze frame*
"Yup, that's me. You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation..." pic.twitter.com/KwbdCXg6lH
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46 min: Olympiakos make a double change, with the former Watford defender José Holebas on in place of Reebchiuk and Fortunis in place of Valbuena. Arsenal are unchanged at the break.
That Arsenal v West Brom game ended up with Mikel Arteta’s side running out 4-0 winners ... same again here?
A couple of half-time stats, courtesy of Opta: Arsenal had five shots on target in the first half against Olympiakos, only once in all competitions this season have they had more in the opening 45 minutes of a match (six v West Brom in January), and Martin Ødegaard’s strike was his first ever goal for Arsenal – the Gunners have now had more different goalscorers in the Europa League this season than any other side.
Half-time scores
Olympiakos 0-1 Arsenal
Tottenham 1-0 Dinamo Zagreb
Roma 1-0 Shakhtar Donetsk
Granada 1-0 Molde
Full-time: Manchester United 1-1 Milan
Full-time: Slavia Prague 1-1 Rangers
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43 min: Well, first they have a free-kick to defend. Gabriel is booked for a crude challenge on Mathieu Valbuena.
42 min: Willian’s deflected effort loops up into the hands of the Olympiakos goalkeeper ... Arsenal are sniffing around in search of a second goal. Might they get one before half-time?
39 min: We all know what David Luiz can do from here ... he gifts the ball to Masouras after getting caught playing the ball out from inside the Arsenal box and, luckily, the Olympiakos striker blasts off target. David Luiz instantly apologies but that was almost another memorable gaffe to add to the showreel.
37 min: Bouchalakis is booked for Olympiakos, who are quite a foul-happy lot. Arsenal are in the box seat here.
36 min: “I keep hearing commentators saying ‘We all know what David Luiz can do from here’ when standing about 25 yards from the opponent’s goal,” emails BD Simmons. “But I honestly have no idea. See his house, maybe? Throw a frisbee really far? Get really good phone signal? He hasn’t scored direct from a free kick since 2017, so it can’t be that.”
GOAL! Olympiakos 0-1 Arsenal (Odegaard, 34)
Phwoar. Martin Odegaard almost breaks the net with a rocket from distance! Odegaard sends a venomous shot crashing towards goal and it catches out the Olympiakos goalkeeper, who was quite simply overpowered. Olympiakos got caught trying to play out of the back and then Odegaard drfited inside and took aim centrally.
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31 min: Arsenal power up down the left flank through Tierney but Soktaris rakes the ball clear. If Arsenal are going to strike, it looks a sure bet that it will come down the left-hand side. A little earlier, Manchester United suffered a stoppage-time blow:
30 min: Arsenal seem to have got a bit sloppy. They’re huffing and puffing. As for former Arsenal youngster Harry Kane, that’s 25 goals for the season, so the England captain has now surpassed his goal tally from each of his previous two seasons (24 in 2019-20 and 2018-19).
GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Dinamo Zagreb (Kane, 25)
Advantage Spurs! Lamela’s shot bounces back off a post and Kane is on hand – of course – to poke in the rebound. Meanwhile, elsewhere in the last 16, Roma and Granada both lead 1-0.
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25 min: Now Bukayo Saka is fouled 25 yards from goal. It was a cheap foul and Arsenal earn another chance to test José Sá ...
23 min: ... Aubameyang thumps at it at the goalkeeper but it is a comfortable save. There was plenty of oomph behind the free-kick but that was about it. Arsenal still very much on top.
22 min: M’Vila is booked for fouling Saka. It was a crude challenge and Arsenal win a free-kick 20 yards out ... It was Odegaard who gifted possession away a moment ago but he is now part of the committee who fancy a pop at this free-kick. Aubameyang fancies it too ...
21 min: ... right on cue, Arsenal get sloppy and Bruma drills an effort at Leno! Arsenal are their own worst enemy, aren’t they?
21 min: There is a bit of a lull in the game in Piraeus. Olympiakos have just had a little spell of possession, though ...
19 min: A gentle reminder that Arsenal host Tottenham at the Emirates on Sunday. Mikel Arteta insisted pre-match the full focus was on this one, though, given it looks to be their only route to the Champions League. “Every game for us is a final in any competition we play,” Arteta said. “This competition is very relevant because it gives us the chance to win a trophy and qualify for the Champions League.”
17 min: ... David Luiz stings the palms of goalkeeper José Sá.
16 min: It is La La Land for Tierney, who is bombing forward down the left at will against Olympiakios full-back Kenny Lala. The defender is having a tricky evening and has just upended Willian 25 yards from goal. Willian, David Luiz and Martin Odegaard are stood over it ...
13 min: Olympiakos look unnervingly comfortable to invite Arsenal pressure. Tierney is having a load of fun down the left flank and has just whipped another teasing cross towards the front post but Saka cannot get there.
11 min: Tottenham are not looking quite so coherent at home to Dinamo Zagreb. Gareth Bale is among the substitutes tonight, but Harry Kane and Son Heung-min both start for Spurs.
10 min: It is still all Arsenal in Greece. Dominating the ball is probably underselling quite how one-sided this game has been. A little earlier, Rangers nabbed an away goal in Prague:
8 min: Olympiakos have been made to look oh so ordinary so far. A reminder that there is a familiar face in the Greek side’s back line: Sokratis. The former Sunderland midfielder Yan M’Vila, too.
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6 min: Aubameyang heads against the bar! Bellerín hangs a delightful cross towards the six-yard box, the Arsenal skipper nips in front of his marker to meet it and his effort deflects via the defender and the goalkeeper’s outstretched left arm and against the woodwork. Mikel Arteta will be chuffed with this start. They could do with something to show for it, though.
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5 min: Arsenal are on the front foot, all very encouraging. As for Manchester United, that Milan equaliser is a kick in the teeth. When failing to win the first leg at home, United have been eliminated from six of their last eight ties in European competition, most recently against Barcelona in the 2018-19 Champions League. Hmmm ...
2 min: Tierney pulls the ball back to Odegaard, just inside the Olympiakos box ... but the Norwegian drags it wide. It fizzed in off the left on a damp pitch but Odegaard, whose shot was tame, got his angles wrong.
1 min: Olympiakos were forced into a pre-match reshuffle. Ousseynou Ba felt a niggle in the warm so the former Sunderland midfielder M’Vila drops back into defence. Masouras starts in Ba’s place.
Peeeeeeeeeeeep!
Arsenal kick-off in Piraeus.
Arsenal trudge on to the pitch in Piraeus ... before kick-off a quick reminder of the teams there and at Tottenham:
Olympiakos v Arsenal
Olympiakos (4-3-3): José Sá; Lala, Sokratis, Ba, Reebciuk; M’Vila, Camara, Bouchalakis; Valbuena, El-Arabi, Bruma
Subs: Karargyris, Tzolakis, Fortunis, Ahmed Hassan, Androutsos, Masouras, Drager, Holebas, Sourlis, Randjelovic
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Leno; Bellerín, David Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney; Thomas, Xhaka; Saka, Odegaard, Willian; Aubameyang
Subs: Ryan, Cedric, Chambers, Holding, Pablo Mari, Elneny, Ceballos, Smith Rowe, Pepe, Martinelli, Lacazette, Hein
Referee: Daniel Siebert (Germany)
Tottenham v Dinamo Zagreb
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris; Aurier, Sánchez, Dier, Davies; Sissoko, Ndombele; Dele, Lamela, Son, Kane
Subs: Hart, Whiteman, Reguilón, Tanganga, Doherty, Alderweireld, Hojbjerg, Winks, Bale, Bergwijn, Lucas, Vinicius
Dinamo: Livakovic, Ristovski, Lauritsen, Theophile-Catherine, Leovac, Majer, Jakic, Ademi, Ivanusec, Petkovic, Orsic
Subs: Zagorac, Josipovic, Gavranovic, Cabraja, Kastrati, Tolic, Burton, Misic, Stojanovic, Franjic, Peric, Atiemwen
Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (Holland)
Guardian substitution: Doyle off, Ben Fisher on.
Full-time scores
Ajax 3-0 Young Boys
Dynamo Kyiv 0-2 Villarreal
Manchester United 1-1 AC Milan
Slavia Prague 1-1 Rangers
GOAL! United 1-1 Milan (Kjaer 90+2)
Milan have the away goal and it’s no more than they deserve! Henderson should probably have stopped Kjaer’s header, mind you.
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GOAL! Ajax 3-0 Young Boys (Brobbey 90+2)
Ajax look to be heading for the quarter-finals.
90 min: A superb save by McGregor, diving quickly to his left to stop a powerful downward header from a corner! Outstanding reflexes and a good strong hand.
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89 min: Milan are going full-gun for the equaliser, forcing United to defend in extremis in their own area. Leao has a chance to test Henderson when the ball squirts out to him 10 yards from goal .... but the striker does an air-shot, and United exhale!
85 min: McTominay clonks into Krunic just outside the D. He’s already on a yellow and is lucky to avoid a dismissal for a blatant foul. Maybe Milan will mete out punishment from the freekick? Nope, Krunic bashes it straight into the wall.
GOAL! Ajax 2-0 Young Boys (Tadic 82)
The former Southampton man puts Ajax in charge against Young Boys.
78 min: A score draw in Prague would be a decent result but they are not settling for that: they’re pushing for the win and making life very uncomfortable for the hosts. They’re certainly giving the Czech champions a tougher game than Leicester did.
74 min: United substitutions: Fred, Shaw and Williams on, Fernandes, James and Wan-Bissaka off.
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70 min: Rangers are coming on strong in Prague. “Hope you’re well. Even though I’m not a Manchester United fan, a Swansea fan, or even a Wales fan, I will never not love Daniel James after seeing that video of his partner surprising him with a puppy a couple years ago,” simpers Adam Kline-Schoder. It’s possible that my previous sentence was a slight exaggeration, but it is no exaggeration to say that I’m happy he is finding his way. I loved watching him at Swansea, charging beyond defenders with such grace and confidence. It was sad to see him going so firmly off the boil after a storming start to his time in Manchester, and I’m glad to see him terrorising defences yet again. Enjoy the match.” And here’s the video that got Adam all misty-eyed.
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67 min: Barisic spoons a lovely inviting freekick from the left across the face of goal, and Helander is agonisingly close to turning it into the net again!
66 min: A terriffic flying save by Kolar prevents Rangers from taking a 2-1 lead.
65 min: Milan fly down the right and Calabria curls a wonderful ball over to the far post. Krunic dashes in front of Wan-Bissaka and plants his header .... over the bar from seven yards!
GOAL! Ajax 1-0 Young Boys (Klaassen 62)
The Dutch take the lead thanks to a crisp finish at the near post.
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Olympiakos v Arsenal
Olympiakos: Sa; Lala, Papastathopoulos, Ba, Reabcuk; Mvila, Camara, Bouchalakis; Valbuena, El-Arabi, Bruma
Arsenal: Leno; Bellerin, David Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney; Willian, Partey, Zhaka; Odegaard, Aubameyang, Saka
Spurs v Zagreb
Spurs: Lloris; Aurier, Dier, Sanchez, Davies; Sissoko, Ndombélé; Lamela, Alli, Son; Kane
Zagreb: Livakovic; Ristovski, Lauritsen, Théophile-Catherine, Leovac; Majer, Jakic, Ademi, Ivanusec; Pekovic, Drisic
56 min: Morales has lead the line very well today, holding the ball up strongly and bringing others into play. He was trying to do exactly that just now when Sima clobbered him from behind on half-way, earning a deserved yellow card.
55 min: Davis gets a rather harsh booking for going into a 50/50 tackle in midfield.
GOAL! Dynamo Kyiv 0-2 Villarreal (Albiol 52)
The Spanish side are two goals to the good after Albiol smacks in a rebound from close range.
GOAL! United 1-0 Milan (Diallo 50)
Oh wow! What an artful finish from the 18-year-old! Fernandes dropped a dainty pass over the head of the last defender and Diallo, having made clever run, turns to face it and then flips a superb back-header over the advancing keeper and into the net! Such deftness! Such awareness! Such an impressive way for a teenager to open his account for United!
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47 min: United are no Wolves but ponderous first halves followed by vibrant second halves have been a bit of a trend this season. It looks like continuing her if the first two minutes of the second period are anything to go by. They’ve been goodly perky.
“How did you not link the Guardian’s own Dundee Utd insult in Nigeria article into Simon McMahon’s post?” howls Gaz Boardman, doing my job for me.
46 min: Martial limped down the tunnel at half-time and has been replaced for the second half. On comes Amad Diallo.
“As a Scotland fan, that whole game v Brazil in 82 is one of my fondest football memories,” blubs a wistful Simon McMahon. “No pain, just great memories. Though in the interests of balance you could show Dave Narey’s opening goal if you like. You want pain? I give you Peru 1978, Russia 1982, Uruguay 1986, Costa Rica 1990, Morocco 1998. And let’s not mention Roma v Dundee United in 1984...”
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“While working in Bologna I travelled up to Milan to take my mate and I to see Meeelan play Venezia in 1998,” recalls Oliver James. “After marvelling at the iconic San Siro, getting through some suspiciously watery lager, we opted to celebrate with a snack from a local recommended meat sandwich stall. Recoba’s iconic hairband?Zeige complaining about the sunlight? Leonardo’s manly mane? Nope, mostly I remember the Venezia fans laughing at me vomiting copiously outside the metro...”
Half-time scores
Ajax 0-0 Young Boys
United 0-0 Milan
Slavia 1-1 Rangers
Dynamo Kyiv 0-1 Villarreal
45+1 min: Dalot scurries down the left wing, but Wan-Bissaka keeps track of him and blocks the cross.
44 min: Martial goes own in the box like a leaf falling from a tree. No way he was ever going to get a penalty for that.
GOAL! Slavia 1-1 Rangers (Helander 36)
Rangers have an away goal! Slavia didn’t deal with a frekick into the box, allowing the ball to ricochet off a defender and trundle towards the byline. Hagi chased it and pulled it back cleverly, and Helander reacted faster than anyone to prod into the net from close range!
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38 min: What? How? Where are we?! Maguire has just perpetrated an extraordinary miss! A United corner came in, Fernandes flicked it on at the near post and Maguire arrived at the back to tap it into the net from a yard ... but instead he shinned it against the post and it looped back over him and out at an improbable angle! Even Maguire looks bewildered!
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36 min: Fernandes wins a foul a couple of yards outside the D. He’ll probably take the freekick himself, though Telles wants a piece of the action. And it’s Telles who takes it ... but he’ll not be on the next one, after banging his shot into one of the United players who was supposed to be acting as a decoy in front of the wall.
34 min: “I think it’s safe to say that Manchester United’s appointment of John Murtough as director of football has had absolutely no effect so far: There is no direction to their football tonight,” bellows Justin Kavanagh. “A creative deep midfielder might help.”
GOAL! Dynamo Kyiv 0-1 Villarreal (Tores 30)
It’s been six years sicne Kyiv made it beyond this stage of the tournament and they’re going to have to come from behind to do it this year.
29 min: Barisic is booked for taking down Kuchta on the edge of the Rangers’ box, to the right. A chance for Slavia to put the freekick into the box, and they’re physically significantly bigger than Rangers, as well as being well organised and technically adept. Provod tries to catch mcGregor off guard by going for goal despite the acute angle. The keeper’s wise to it and pushes it around the post for a corner. “What was Matt Drake thinking ordering the pizza at Slavia?” carps Rory Davies. “As a former season ticket holder at the old Slavia ground, it was always half a chicken on a small cardboard square with two slices of dark bread and a pickle. During the colder months when extra calories were needed, they would happily dip your two slices in the trough of molten chicken fat under the rotisserie. All washed down with pints of Gambrinus brought to your seat.”
25 min: Hagi is chopped down midway inside the Slavia half, giving Rangers a chance to stick a freekick into the area. In fact, Slavia set the defensive line just outside the D, so Davis clips the ball over the top .... and Slavia intercept, heading it clear. Slavia hurtle down the other end and threaten to nick a second, but Helander does enough to put off Kuchta.
24 min: Dalot fluffs a cross, but he got up into a very attacking position, a reflection of Milan’s confidence. They’ve been both compact and vibrant so far. United look sluggish. “Watching the Belgian coverage of the game (with Dutch commentary) and it seems even us Belgians, or definitely our commentators, have gotten wind of the circus that VAR has been in England,” says Toon Helsen. “He reacted exasperatedly, indignantly, at the goal check saying “what? Was there not enough air in the ball maybe? Or did Kessie score on an odd second and thus it’s not allowed??”. As a United fan I am more than pleased about VAR being on our side once again of course but it seems my countrymen are catching on VAR and its rigorous application (or lack thereof, depending on where one’s loyalties lie).”
18 min: A foul on Telles gives United a freekick in a useful crossing position. Everyone piles into the box. Telles goes for a goal ... or maybe it was just a terrible cross - whatever, the ball curls a few years over the bar.
16 min: Milan are comfortably the better team at Old Trafford so far. United haven’t offered anything by way of attack yet. “In terms of stadium food, not even my son will eat the hot dogs at the Emirates and he is usually as discerning as an urban fox,” writes Simon Thomas. “The Balti pie at Villa is wonderful though. As is that odd square sausage thing they sell at Ibrox.’ It’s good nostalgia, isn’t it, reminiscing about the days, a year ago now, when people could watch matches in stadiums.
NO GOAL! Not United 0-1 Milan (Not Kessié 11)
What a strike! Kessié, just inside the United area, is allowed to let the ball bounce from a throw-in and turn and then smash the hopping ball into the net from 16 yards while three United players just watched him! But it’s ruled out after a VAR check, which judged that he controlled the ball with a hand before unloading his shot. That’s two disallowed goals for Milan. United can’t say they haven’t been warned.
Not wishing to riff on any Scots’ pain or anything, but mcGregor’s reaction to Stancu’s shot just now evoked memories of Alan Rough v Zico ...
GOAL! Slavia Prague 1-0 Rangers (Stancu 7)
The home side take the lead with a sumptuous goal from distance. Slavia worked the ball cleverly to Stancu at the left-hand corner of the Rangers box, and the Romanian took a touch to tee himself up and then swept a beautiful curler into the far corner of the net! McGregor didn’t budge.
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5 min: Very sedate openings in Manchester and Prague, where the sides seem to be just sizing each other up. At least that was the case until a moment ago, when Leal thrashed a shot into the net to five Milan the lead! But it was disallowed because the reason he had got the run on Bailly was because he was in an offside position when the ball was dropped over to the top for him to chase. Still, it was a smart finish and a warning to United. “I’m American and went to the Roma-Chievo Verona match at the Stadio Olimpico in May 2016 (featuring Mo Salah, Lucas Digne, Antonio Rudiger, and Francesco Totti’s 600th Serie A appearance),” reveals Matt Burtz. “I was quite surprised to learn that apparently you can openly smoke cigarettes at a stadium in Italy, something you would never see in the US, even in an outdoor facility. Still a great place to see a game though.”
It’s kick-off in four matches: United v Milan, Slavia v Rangers, Kyiv v Villarreal and Ajax v Young Boys.
“Portugal’s teams absence from this stage is probably due to the Covid-condensed calendar, combined with little realistic prospect of winning the thing so concentrate on the domestic scene and look forward to next year, much like the rest of us,” ventures Barry McAuley. That hasn’t stopped Porto in the Champions League, though.
“I’m surprised uUnited didn’t insert a clause in Dalot’s loan contract to stop him playing against us,” quibbles Peter Kingsnorth. “Even though he was never held in great regard here it would be a kick in the teeth if he has a great game...” Ominously, he’s in good scoring form at the moment, having netted in Milan’s win over Verona last weekend.
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Want another Readers’ European Football Adventure? Well, here’s Stephen O’Sullivan. “On my many travels basically every other week, one of our lads did a pie league. he religiously bought a pie at every stadium. Then he rated them.” I can only assume Stephen’s network has collapsed and that he would otherwise have included the rest of that tale. Fair to say, following Matt Drake’s introduction of this theme, it’s 0-0 in the story stakes so far.
“Milan have the brothers Donnarumma in their squad today - and both are goalkeepers!” notes Peter Oh. “Wow, just imagine the battles around the laundry basket and the garbage bin in the Donnarumma household when the stoppers were just wee lads, discovering their respective calling in life.”
“Hi Paul,’ begins Matt Drake. “I once went to a game at Slavia Prague. It’s not pertinent to the game today, but at the stadium I purchased (and consumed) the worst slice of pizza I have ever had.” Anyone else like to share stories of their European football travels? Don’t be shy: as you can see, the quality control filter is set to not even slightly picky.
Solskjaer's pre-match pep talk
“[By beating Man City last weekend} We set the standard for ourselves as a group of players and it’s about how often can you reproduce that kind of intensity, concentration and winning the ball in the right areas?”
About Rashford’s ankle injury, he says: “Hopefully it won’t be too long but he’s not ready for tonight.”
Eleven countries are represented in the last 16, including Norway, with Molde the first from there to make it this far. With no clubs from Germany, France or Portugal, what should we glean from the failure of any sides from three of Europe’s supposed Big Six leagues to reach this stage?
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Slavia v Rangers
Slavia: Kolar; Bah, Kudela, Zima, Boril; Sima, Stancu, Holes, Provod, Olayinka; Kuchta
Subs: Visinky, Deli, Vagner, Teci, Dorley, Hromada, Masopust, Kovar, Lingr
Rangers: McGregor; Patterson, Goldson, Helander, Barisic; Kamara, Davis, Aribo; Hagi, Morelos, Kent
Subs: King, Simpson, Wright, Ughelumba, Itten, Zungu, Stewart, Roofe, McLaughlin, Arfield
Man United v AC Milan
Here are the lineups:
United: Henderson; Wan-BIssaka, Bailly, Maguire, Telles; McTominay, Matic; James, Fernandes, Greenwood; Martial
Subs: Shoretire, Tuanzebe, Shaw, Williams, Fred, Grant, Lindelof, Bishop, Traoré
Milan: Domarunma; Calabria, Kjaer, Tomori, Dalot; Krunic, Meite, Kssie; Saelemaekers, Rafael Leao, Daz
Subs: Tatarunsanu, Castillejo, Tonali, Kalulu, Tonin, Gabba, Donnarumma
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the beginning of the Europa League last 16 ties, featuring eight some intriguing match-ups. How about the seven-times European champions AC Milan against the three-times European champions Manchester United? Or Steven Gerrard’s newly crowned Scottish champions against Slavia Prague, the team whose impressive victory at Leicester in the last round denied Brendan Rodgers the pleasure of duelling with Rangers again? A little later we’ll have the latest instalment of Olympiakos v Arsenal, who can’t seem to avoid other whenever they go on European adventures, and Spurs versus Dinamo Zagreb. Here are all of today’s fixtures:
Ajax v Young Boys
Dinamo Kyiv v Villarreal
Manchester United v AC Milan
Slavia Prague v Rangers
Granada v Molde
Olympiakos v Arsenal
Roma v Shakhtar Donetsk
Spurs v Dinamo Zagreb.
Updated
