FC Barcelona suffered a setback in the duel of the heavyweights in the first knockout round of the Europa League.
The team around the German national goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen and the former Bayern star Robert Lewandowski only managed to draw 2-2 (1-1) in the first leg against Manchester United despite being ahead and are therefore under pressure before the guest appearance in England.
“We could have won in the end. Now we start 0-0 at Old Trafford,” said Barca coach Xavi. Manchester is currently “one of the best teams in Europe”. United goalscorer Marcus Rashford spoke of a “disappointing result in the end” for the Red Devils, but Barcelona was “a good team, they have quality”.
Marcos Alonso (50th) had put the Champions League relegated from Barcelona in the lead. But only a little later Marcus Rashford (53rd) equalized. After an own goal by the French runner-up Jules Koundé (59th), Manchester were ahead, Raphinha (76th) made it 2-2.
Barcelona continued their impressive series: Barca have been unbeaten in 17 competitive games (15 wins, 2 draws), the last time the Catalans suffered a defeat was in October (0:3 against Bayern Munich in the Champions League).
Juventus also stumble in the Europa League
Juventus Turin also got off to a rocky start after being eliminated from the Champions League. The Italian record champions did not get more than 1-1 (1-0) against FC Nantes despite the lead by Dusan Vlahovic (13th). Ludovic Blas equalized in the 60th minute. FC Sevilla, on the other hand, opened the door to the next round with a 3-0 (1-0) win against PSV Eindhoven.
Shakhtar Donetsk is on course for the round of 16 after beating Stade Rennes 2-1 (2-0). RB Salzburg celebrated a 1-0 (0-0) win over AS Roma after a late goal by Nicolas Capaldo (88′) and put themselves in a good position to progress.