Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitiké struck early but Pedro Porro’s equally classy finish has given Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur a 1-1 home draw in their Europa League quarter-final first leg.
Manchester United drew 2-2 in Lyon following Rayan Cherki’s stoppage-time equaliser for the hosts after substitute Joshua Zirkzee thought he had won it for the English team.
Thiago Almada’s free-kick bounced in to give Lyon the lead and Leny Yoro’s clever header had brought the 2017 winners level just before the break.
United’s much malinged goalkeeper Andre Onana was criticised for both goals conceded by his team.
“You’re fuming [if you’re Onana’s team-mate]. They’re two massive mistakes. He has got to save both of them in my opinion and he has cost United today. He was in the headlines before the game and now he is going to be all over the headlines again,” said former England player Aaron Lennon on the BBC.
A new era of the UEFA Champions League is here, only on Stan Sport.
Onana had riled up Lyon before the match by suggesting United was the superior team on paper.
His coach, Ruben Amorim, declined to single out his error-prone keeper.
“[It is] important to focus on the next game for the league and then think about the second leg against Lyon. When one player has a mistake, all the team has a mistake so we continue like that,” he said.
Athletic Bilbao, who host May’s final, drew 0-0 at 10-man Rangers. The Scots had Robin Pröpper sent off after just 13 minutes for bringing down Nico Williams and the Basques thought they had taken the led through Alex Berenguer in the 76th minute.
But video reviews chalked off the goal and awarded a penalty to Bilbao instead, which Berenguer then had saved by Liam Kelly.
Frankfurt, the 2022 Europa League winners who are third in the Bundesliga this term, will confidently go into next Thursday’s home leg against Spurs thanks to Ekitiké’s brilliance.
The French striker cut inside and fired an unstoppable low shot into the corner from just outside the area after just six minutes.
The Londoners, down in 14th in the Premier League after an injury-hit and inconsistent season, levelled through Porro’s clever flick from James Maddison’s cross on 26.
The fans inside the futuristic Tottenham Hotspur Stadium responded with a spine-tingling atmosphere as Ange Postecoglou’s men pushed but Frankfurt clung on for the draw.
Postecoglou has come under increasing pressure due to the team’s Premier League malaise and advancing to the Europa League final might be the only thing that saves his job at Spurs.
“I can’t ask any more of the lads. It was disappointing to concede the way we did, fair strike to the lad [Hugo Ekitike],” Postecoglou said.
“Even before that I thought we were well in control of the game. I thought it would bear fruit in the second half and it did in every aspect but goals.
“For us, the biggest blow we had was conceding so early. That kind of played into their hands, I always felt we’d finish the game strong.
“On any other night we go away with a comfortable victory. We have to go there and we knew it would get decided in the second tie. If we repeat that performance we give ourselves a chance.
“I don’t expect the second game to be to open, it’ll be cagey affair and it’ll come down to moments.
“The second leg is going to be tight for sure, it might even go to extra-time, we’re going to need all the lads ready to go. The good thing is we have most of them back and healthy, which is important.”
Earlier, Norwegian champions Bodø/Glimt beat Lazio 2-0 at home thanks to an Ulrik Saltnes double.
Chelsea, meanwhile, are still cruising in the Europa Conference League after keeping their perfect record with a 3-0 win at Legia Warsaw in their first-leg quarter-final.
Following a dull first half, Chelsea struck twice early in the second period before adding another.
Tyrique George netted the first in the 49th on a rebound, his first goal for the club, while second-half substitute Noni Madueke scored with a left-foot shot eight minutes later. It could have been three but Christopher Nkunku had his spot kick saved.
Madueke made it 3-0 from close range in the 74th.
In the other quarter-finals, Real Betis beat Jagiellonia Bialystok 2-0, Rapid Wien won 1-0 at Djurgarden and Fiorentina defeated Celje 2-1 away.
The Roarhttps://https://ift.tt/HZSDNFn held at home in Europa League quarter-final, United level with Lyon after two Onana clangers – ‘you’re fuming’
Post a Comment