1 week Ago
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim defended under-fire goalkeeper Andre Onana following the Cameroonian’s costly mistakes in his side’s 2-2 draw at Olympique Lyonnais in their Europa League quarter-final first leg on Thursday. Onana allowed Thiago Almada’s free kick to squirm past him in the Groupama Stadium and was also at fault for Rayan Cherki’s last-gasp equaliser that denied United victory. Since the start of last season, no Premier League club’s goalkeeper has made more errors leading to goals being conceded in all competitions than Onana.
“It can happen, if you play football, you play a lot of games, you can make mistakes,” Amorim said. “If you look at the season, I make more mistakes than them during these last games and these last months. “The other thing is we have one more game to change everything and that should be our focus.
“The best thing is to look at the goals, all the actions that Andre had in the game, this is the best way to help any player, it’s to focus on the game, what happened, what we need to improve.” United nonetheless remain unbeaten in this season’s Europa League — the only side to do so this term — after goals from Leny Yoro and Joshua Zirkzee put them on course for a potential victory. The team, who are 13th in the English Premier League standings, still go into next week’s second leg in Manchester as favourites to book a spot in the last four.
“It was an entertaining game,” Amorim added. “We had some difficulty in the first half trying to press, because Lyon played in a different way. Then, in the middle of the first half and especially the second, we controlled the game.
“The second leg will be a different game. At home, our fans want us to press all the time.” Spurs held 1-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt Tottenham Hotspur had to settle for a 1-1 draw at home to Eintracht Frankfurt in a lively first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, with Pedro Porro cancelling out the visitors’ early opener by Hugo Ekitike.
Eintracht took a sixth-minute lead through striker Ekitike, who slotted home from outside the box into the bottom right corner, before Porro levelled for Tottenham 20 minutes later, flicking the ball in with a smooth finish from close range. “Next week will probably be the biggest game of the season,” Tottenham midfielder Lucas Bergvall said of the return leg next Thursday. “We go there for confidence, try to play like we did in the second half, and hopefully score more than them.
” For Tottenham, who are 14th in the Premier League with seven rounds to go in a largely disappointing domestic season, winning the competition is their only remaining pathway to European action next season. Eintracht, the 2022 winners, are still well-placed to earn Champions League qualification via the Bundesliga standings where they are currently third, two points above fourth-placed Mainz. The German side, playing in their first European quarter-final since lifting the trophy, took a quick lead after Ellyes Skhiri won a duel with James Maddison and immediately sent the ball out to the left flank.
From there, the well-positioned Ekitike dribbled his way up to the edge of the area before scoring low past Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario. “I just took the ball and believed I could score from that position,” Ekitike said. “I think it was a good goal but I wish I could have managed to help the team more.
” Tottenham, aiming to reach the last four of a European competition for the first time since their run to the 2019 Champions League final, equalised in the 26th minute through defender Porro. Dominic Solanke played Maddison into the box from the left and the midfielder set up Porro for a first-time finish. Ekitike should have restored the lead for the visitors just before the interval when he struck low from the edge of the box but Vicario easily saved his weak shot.
Tottenham, who finished fourth in the league phase one point above Eintracht, continued to have more possession after the break and Bergvall came close to putting Tottenham in front with a stunning shot from a distance. However, the Swedish midfielder hit the woodwork. Rodrigo Bentancur did the same two minutes later and Eintracht goalkeeper Kaua Santos denied Maddison from close range just before the hour mark.
Brennan Johnson misfired a great chance from near the penalty spot in the dying minutes. The winners after the second leg will face either Lazio or Norway’s Bodo/Glimt for a spot in the final in Bilbao. Bodo won the first leg 2-0 earlier on Thursday.
10-man Rangers hold Bilbao to goalless draw Rangers held Athletic Bilbao to a nail-biting goalless draw at home in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final on Thursday, despite being reduced to 10 men early on. Bilbao failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage after Rangers defender Robin Propper was sent off in the 13th minute for a foul on Inaki Williams. The visitors came close to taking the lead when substitute Alex Berenguer scored in the 76th minute.
However, after a VAR review, the winger was flagged for offside but a penalty was awarded because the ball had bounced off the hand of defender James Tavernier before the goal. Rangers goalkeeper Liam Kelly made a fine save from Berenguer to keep the result scoreless. The return leg will be played next Thursday at the San Mames stadium in Bilbao.
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