Ajax 0 Union Berlin 0
Urs Fischer’s Union Berlin side will leave Amsterdam feeling frustrated, as they failed to win for the first time in 2023, despite putting Ajax to the sword in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League clash.
Playing in their first-ever European knockout match, Union took the game to Ajax in the first period, finishing the half with nine attempts on goal, while restricting the hosts to a shot-less 45 minutes.
It began with Morten Thorsby, whose whistled effort flashed over the crossbar, before Sheraldo Becker saw a driven half-volley cleared off the line and Jerome Roussillon skimmed the side netting with a long-range strike from outside the box.
Having had luck on their side in the first period, Ajax would again feel fortunate midway through the second, when Union were denied an opening goal for a controversial handball in the build-up.
Thorsby, who looked to have found the opener with a bullish strike inside the penalty area, saw his celebrations cut short when the VAR assistant instructed referee Halil Umut Meler to disallow the goal. Replays suggest contact was minimal, with Union having every right to feel hard done by.
It would have been easy for Union to travel to the Dutch capital and sit back against the three-time European champions. Instead, it was Ajax who looked like the European rookies for much of the contest, as John Heitinga’s side failed to impress all evening long.
When opportunities did present themselves to Ajax, rash finishing, namely from Steven Bergwijn and Steven Berghuis, would cost the home side any hopes of finding the all-important opener.
The wonders being worked by Fischer at Union, who were only promoted to the Bundesliga for the first time in 2019, are perfectly demonstrated by the fact they went toe-to-toe with the European juggernauts Ajax and were left feeling the more disappointed of the two sides.
Nonetheless, a crucial clash lies ahead at the Stadion An der Alten Forsterei next week, with Union having shown more than enough to suggest a famous European night could be on the cards in Kopenick.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Morten Thorsby (Union Berlin)
Barcelona 2 Manchester United 2
Barcelona and Manchester United played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in their UEFA Europa League knockout round playoff first leg. While disappointed after netting the opener, Barcelona still extended their unbeaten run to 17 consecutive matches.
Barcelona had great momentum in the build-up to kick-off, leading LaLiga by eight points after a huge turnaround under Xavi.
Equally impressive was the sight of a packed-out Camp Nou, and this helped Barcelona start the stronger, with Robert Lewandowski forcing David de Gea into a smart save early on.
As for United, the in-form Marcus Rashford was clearly Barcelona’s main target and found himself heavily marked in the opening minutes.
Instead, it was fellow United forward Wout Weghorst who almost landed a sucker punch when sent through on goal, only for Marc-Andre ter Stegen to thwart him and keep the game goalless.
The Red Devils’ tails were up thereafter, and the German stopper produced further acrobatics to block Rashford’s inventive effort, but the hosts would regain centre stage on the brink of half time, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka forced into a goal-saving block from Jordi Alba.
It initially seemed the second half was going to struggle to keep up with an exceptional first. But shortly after Jadon Sancho’s inexplicable miss and Raphinha’s whistling 25-yard effort, it was ex-Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso who headed Barcelona into the lead.
The hosts’ euphoria was short-lived, and they were still celebrating a knockdown when Marcus Rashford landed an instant counter-blow on 53 minutes, with the England international squeezing his effort past Ter Stegen to level the tie and equal his highest-ever scoring tally for a season.
Finally, these sides looked like teams that “deserve to be in the Champions League” – as per Xavi’s pre-match comments – and Rashford soon made another telling contribution within just a few minutes of his equaliser.
He embarked on a mazy run, and his subsequent drilled cross bounced off Jules Kounde and into the net for an unfortunate own goal.
That second blow appeared to have winded the hosts, but they remarkably recovered through Raphinha’s cross-cum-shot as the game entered its final stages.
It was obvious that neither side was content with the draw as the tempo refused to slow.
Rashford did his best to tilt the contest once more, though it was United’s backline that threatened to bend late on, with De Gea forced into several impressive stops.
Ultimately, both sides can reflect on missed chances, but neutral fans certainly won’t complain, with this encounter surely going down as one of the Europa League classics ahead of next week’s second leg at Old Trafford.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marcus Rashford (Manchester United)
Find out all the stats from the game with Flashscore.
RB Salzburg 1 Roma 0
Nicolas Capaldo struck late for Red Bull Salzburg to condemn AS Roma to their first European defeat to Austrian opposition, ensuring the hosts will take a slender advantage into the second leg of their UEFA Europa League knockout play-off tie.
Due to a lengthy winter break, Salzburg had only played two competitive games in 2023 prior to their crucial European meeting with Roma, but they showed no signs of rustiness in the opening exchanges.
Salzburg were willing to try their luck with efforts from outside the box, as Capaldo drove a low strike straight at Rui Patricio, before Noah Okafor fired over the crossbar from the edge of the box.
Following a sluggish start, Roma began to grow into the game, as they attempted to take the lead through Tammy Abraham. The Englishman sent Stephan El Shaarawy’s delivery from the left wing into the grateful clutches of Philipp Kohn. Moments later, Nicola Zalewski swung a dangerous cross in from the opposite flank, which was nodded frustratingly wide by Abraham.
The former Chelsea striker looked set to give Roma the lead just moments before the break when he latched onto Bryan Cristante’s long ball over the top, but he was superbly stopped by the sprawling Salzburg goalkeeper.
With a second leg still to play in the Italian capital next week, neither side were prepared to take too many risks after the interval.
Chances were proving to be few and far between in the second period, yet Capaldo’s deflected shot from distance had Patrício scrambling to his left before the ball eventually dropped wide.
Roma, who were a constant threat from set-pieces, nearly carved out a winning goal from a late corner-kick, as Chris Smalling towered above the Salzburg defence to knock the ball down into the path of Andrea Belotti, but the Italian striker was denied by the remarkable reactions of Kohn, who pushed the close-range strike onto the crossbar.
However, it was the Austrians rather than their Italian opponents who found a dramatic winner, with Capaldo thumping a header past Patricio from Pavlovic’s teasing cross, ensuring the first competitive meeting between the two sides went the way of the hosts.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nicolas Capaldo (Red Bull Salzburg)
Shakhtar Donetsk 2 Rennes 1
Shakhtar Donetsk will hold a slight advantage in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League knockout play-off tie next week after stretching their unbeaten run against French opposition to five games by beating Rennes 2-1.
Remarkably, this was Shakhtar’s first competitive game since the Ukrainian Premier League paused for the 2022 FIFA World Cup last November.
Meanwhile, Rennes headed into this fixture having lost four of their last six Ligue 1 games. Despite having not played a significant game in nearly three months, the ‘home’ side took an early lead after cutting open the French outfit.
Steve Mandanda initially denied Bohdan Mykhaylichenko’s strike, but Dmytro Kryskiv pounced on the loose ball and coolly fired into the middle of the goal.
Bruno Genesio’s side saw more of the ball as the first half progressed. However, they struggled to find their killer instinct in front of goal and struck several efforts wide of the target.
After ramping up the pressure, Rennes forced Shakhtar into a sloppy back pass, but Karl Toko Ekambi couldn’t capitalise and aimed his right-footed shot straight at Anatoliy Trubin.
A clumsy challenge inside the box provided Shakhtar the opportunity to double their advantage on the stroke of the interval, and a confident Artem Bondarenko stepped up to slot the ball home from the spot.
Rennes continued to look for a way back into the game after the interval, with Benjamin Bourigeaud fizzing a strike straight into the goalkeeper's path.
Their persistence eventually paid off in the 59th minute when Toko Ekambi got on the end of Jeremy Doku’s first-rate cross with his stretched right foot at the back post.
Igor Jovicevic’s team almost restored their two-goal advantage after the hour mark, but Taras Stepanenko was unable to direct his free header underneath the crossbar.
Shakhtar’s legs failed to tire despite their lack of competitive action, and they hung on to record their first triumph in Europe since defeating RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League group stages last September.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Artem Bondarenko (Shakhtar Donetsk)