FC Barcelona suffered a setback in the duel of the heavyweights in the first knockout round of the Europa League. FC Salzburg defeated AS Roma.
The team around the German national goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and the former Bayern star Robert Lewandowski only managed to draw 2-2 (0-0) in the exciting first leg against Manchester United on Thursday evening (February 16, 2023) and is therefore ahead the guest appearance in England under pressure.
“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 one “in the end disappointing result” for the Red Devils, but Barcelona is “a good team, they have quality”.
Both teams were in the game immediately after kick-off in the first half. However, the first clear scoring opportunity for the team from Manchester only came in the 28th minute. Wout Weghorst didn’t use his good opportunity, nor did Marcus Rashford a short time later (34′). Jordi Alba missed a promising chance for Barcelona (37th), he failed to Man United goalkeeper David de Gea.
Kounde undermines own goal
Marcos Alonso (50th) then put the Champions League relegated from Barcelona in the lead. But only a little later, Rashford (53rd) equalized.
After an own goal by the French runner-up Jules Kounde (59th), Manchester were ahead, Raphinha (76th) made it 2-2. Barcelona continued their impressive streak: Barca have been unbeaten in 17 competitive games (15 wins, two draws), the last time the Catalans suffered a defeat was in October (0:3 against Bayern Munich in the Champions League). The second leg will be played at Old Trafford on February 23.
Bumpy EL start from Juve
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.
Donetsk and Salzburg on course
Shakhtar Donetsk is on course for the round of 16 after beating Stade Rennes 2-1 (2-0). FC 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. Sporting Lisbon drew 1-1 (0-0) from FC Midtjylland thanks to Sebastian Coates’ late equalizer (90+4).