Announcement of the match “Anderlecht” - “Manchester United”. Manchester United defeated Anderlecht and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League. Result of the match Manchester Anderlecht

Anderlecht arrived at Old Trafford following Chelsea. And, according to many fans and experts, the Belgian club had practically nothing to count on, since even in the first match of the 1/4 finals of the Europa League, United seemed to be able to decide the fate of the confrontation in their favor on the road. Indeed, how can Swiss mentor Rene Weiler surprise an experienced opponent in just one week?!

The “Devils”, having a goal on the “foreign” field, started the match somewhat impressively. In this sense, the guests had nowhere to retreat, and they tried, at least, to indicate “tension” near Romero’s possessions. And when, in the 10th minute of the meeting, the Mancunians, thanks to an interception in the area of ​​the central circle and a clever pass from Pogba, received a tangible chance for a counterattack, and the entire Anderlecht defense suddenly faded, allowing the running Mkhitaryan to calmly take aim and hit a low shot from -under the confused defenders at the most unexpected moment for the goalkeeper, the audience of the match seemed to be watching another confirmation of the pattern of the general course of the fight.

Further jumps by Ruben, who parried Pogba's header and Lingard's insidious "shot", only swept away any remaining doubts about the imminent triumph of the favorite "favorite": just a little more, and the "devils" are about to complete a rout in the first half. However, the “purple-whites” managed to pull themselves together, hold out, and from the 20th minute they completely seized the initiative.

The fact is, the victory over Chelsea cost United a lot of physical effort, and, to a certain extent, resulted not only in a loss of concentration and accumulated fatigue, but also in injuries. The injury to Rojo, received by the Argentine out of the blue due to excessive risk, led to catastrophic consequences for the entire Mancunian defense. In addition, with Teodorchik, Kipchu and Hanni, Anderlecht looked much more meaningful and varied - both in the center of the field and in attack. And while Blind was frantically recalling the peculiarities of his interaction with Bailly, the guests seriously began to bother Romero.

Slightly inaccurate shots from Acheampong and Dendoncker, which completed very smart plays by the “purple-whites”, ultimately laid the foundation on which Weiler’s team managed to create a real sensation and, absolutely rightly, having completely exhausted their famous opponent, equalized the score in the course of an excellent combination, invented and fulfilled according to all the laws of football science. It is eloquent that in the episode with the missed goal, United appeared in a “disassembled” state, when a whole group of players did not understand how they needed to react to certain maneuvers of the guests, while Anderlecht, on the contrary, showed team spirit, coherence and determination.

The “devils” generally spent the final segment of the first half and the five minutes immediately after the break weakly and did not mark anything except Mkhitaryan’s too cunning attempt to bring Lingard, who was stuck offside, one on one with Ruben. The “purple-whites” almost developed their own success, and Hanni and Teodorczyk were partly unlucky to aggravate the crisis in which the Mancunians continued to find themselves, who at the end of the hour of the match set a record for the number of meaningless and unaddressed forward passes.

The “Plan B” demanded of the United coaching staff by life itself was by no means original. With the hasty appearance of Fellaini, countless shots from anywhere found their final destination, and at the same time Ibrahimovic, practically unnoticed until now, got a chance to more accurately watch for a “rebound”, or, due to the freed up space, finally get into a striking position or bring someone out on a date with the goalkeeper. or else.

Anderlecht was left with a choice: patiently look for counterattack options or formally reduce the risk and strengthen the defense, hoping to hold out until extra time, and then the penalty shootout. Rene Weiler, who did not have substitutes of the caliber of Rooney, Herrera or Martial, chose the latter, and the guests returned to the lineup that, to put it mildly, did not very clearly oppose the Mancunians in Belgium, with the captaincy of Tielemans - talented, but, of course, too young for this the role of a player who is not yet capable of handling the burden of responsibility and clearly leading his partners in matches of such intensity.

In fact, the remaining half hour of the second half became an extended benefit performance for Ruben. The Spanish goalkeeper managed to leave the target on time, preventing Rashford from rolling the ball into the empty net as a result of Appiah’s gross and, in many ways, expected mistake in his own half of the field, and constantly preventing Ibrahimovic from scoring from a lethal position, even if there was a suspicion of offside .

Pogba's miss from outside the goalkeeper's area, a strange and possibly serious injury to Zlatan, rightly canceled due to obvious violation Fellaini ruled, the goal of the same number 6 of the “devils” - events that made the impending “penalty shootout” more than likely. And yet, Anderlecht almost didn’t make it to the much-desired outcome, which for United would have been unpredictable and very dangerous. The home wall factor helped Rashford, albeit with a fair amount of luck, turn a banal “discount” with the head of the “curly-haired” Belgian into a goal. And despite the fact that the guests fought selflessly until the very final whistle, and Acheampong had half a chance to resurrect the sensation, the Old Trafford hosts are advancing to the next stage of the tournament with great difficulty.

» - Anderlecht - 2:1

"Genk" - "Celta" - 1:1 (3:4)

Another Belgian club, like Anderlecht, left the Europa League at the quarter-final stage: Genk played a draw at home with the Spanish Celta and, due to an away defeat (2:3), lost theirs on aggregate. to the opponent.

This final victory over the Belgians allowed Celta to turn a new page in its history: it reached the semi-finals of the Europa League for the first time.

It is worth admitting that this meeting between the Celts and the Masters was much less dynamic than the previous one, as evidenced by the fact that two goals were scored here, not five. There was clearly not enough speed, since the Spaniards were satisfied with the result of the home match and they had no desire to get into trouble and open up in attack, and the Belgians were too afraid to miss a goal on their field, which would have counted as two and would have made it much more difficult for them to advance to the next round .

However, in the 63rd minute, exactly what Genk was afraid of happened:

Celta's Danish striker Pione Sisto took the ball from Belgian defender Timothy Castagne, who played carelessly, and fired a shot from outside the penalty area right behind the goalkeeper's collar.

Only after this did Genk come to the real realization that he needed to win back, and he rushed forward with all his might, which immediately bore fruit. The 22-year-old striker, who scored two assists in the first meeting between the teams, this time decided to score himself, in which the visiting defender actively helped him. The Celta defender failed to handle the ball during the interception and literally played one-two with Trossard, who slipped past him into the penalty area and hit the far corner precisely - Sergio Alvarez was no longer there.

Having equalized the score, Genk perked up and began to furiously besiege the Spaniards' penalty area, rolling in wave after wave, but Eduardo Berizzo's men showed miracles of composure and managed to prevent their usual stupid mistakes in defense.

The match ended like that - 1:1 on the scoreboard and Celta in the semi-finals.

Schalke 04 - Ajax - 3:2

The German “Schalke 04”, which so weakly lost 0:2 away to the Dutch “Ajax”, appeared on its home field as a completely different team and until extra time acted under the motto “My home is my fortress”, actively scoring and at the same time doing nothing. skipping.

Besiktas - Lyon - 2:1 (6:7 on penalties)

The Turkish Besiktas and the French Lyon, who played out a real drama in the first match of the quarterfinals (the Lions then snatched victory, losing 0:1 by the 83rd minute of the match), gave the audience another tremendous hassle.

The team's Brazilian midfielder scored a double against the French, and responded with a goal of his own.

At this point, the teams' scoring feats ended, and for the next hour (the remainder of the match's regular time and both extra halves), spectators watched an intense struggle in which neither could surpass the other.

Since the rivals could not defeat each other using classical methods, the winner had to be determined in a football lottery - a penalty shootout.

The first six shots were scored by both teams, but the seventh attempt was simultaneously failed: at first he failed to beat the goal, and then he shot above the goal.

However, if the Turks continued to make mistakes (they shot artlessly into the right corner, so Lopes pulled again), then

The French did not allow any more misfires: they converted their attempt and brought Lyon victory in the penalty shoot-out with a score of 7:6 and, at the same time, access to the semi-finals of the Europa League.
After the match, the Lyon head coach officially announced the lifting of the penalty shootout curse.

“We controlled the game for most of it, except maybe at the beginning of the second half. However, we were either unlucky or the opposing goalkeeper made incredible saves. In the end it all came down to a penalty shootout.

I remembered that Lyon lost both of their previous series in European competition, but we managed to overcome this curse."

- conveys the words of the L"Equipe specialist.

Other news, materials and statistics can be viewed on the Europa League, as well as in the sports department groups on social networks

This week the ups and downs in the Champions League are over, we switch to the Europa League, which has its own intrigue and flavor of confrontations. It will be hot in Belgium today; at the Constant Vanden Stock stadium, championship silver medalist Anderlecht will host one of the most titled clubs in the Old World, Manchester United. The Mancunians do not hide their ambitions to win the Europa League, but the purple-and-whites have already come too far to give up their ticket to the semi-finals without a fight. The match itself will begin at 22:05 (Moscow time), the game will be officiated by German referee Felix Brych.

"Anderlecht"

Anderlecht is not a favorite in the confrontation with the Red Devils, but the Belgians should not be underestimated. The Purple and Whites won the regular season in Belgium and are now leading the playoff round. In the domestic arena, Anderlecht is the most titled - 55 trophies, but in the European arena in modern history The club was almost unmemorable. Anderlecht have played in the group stage of the Champions League three times over the past 4 years, but have never managed to make it to the playoffs. Anderlecht's heyday was in the mid-70s - early 80s. The Belgians won the UEFA Cup in 1983 and reached the final a year later.

Being the vice-champion of Belgium, this season Anderlecht began their European Cup journey by qualifying for the Champions League. The Russian “Rostov” stood in the way of the Belgians, which became an impassable obstacle. Anderlecht flew into the Europa League, where they took second place in a difficult group with Saint-Etienne, Mainz and Gabala. In the 1/16 finals, the “purple-whites” defeated Zenit at home (2:0), after which they maintained the required advantage in the away match (3:1), advancing to the next round thanks to an away goal. In the 1/8 finals, Rene Weiler's team minimally beat Cypriot APOEL twice.

"Manchester United"

The Mancunians are approaching the status of favorites not only for the match against Anderlecht, but also in relation to the tournament in general. Manchester United head coach Jose Mourinho does not hide the fact that the Europa League is an alternate springboard for his team into the Champions League if Manchester United is unable to do so with the help of the championship. There are 6 rounds left to play in the English Premier League, Manchester United still have two games in hand, but are currently based in 5th place, 4 points behind the Champions League zone. Last season, the Red Devils also played in the Europa League, being eliminated from group stage Champions League. In the 1/8 finals of the Europa League, the then Louis van Gaal team was stopped by another English club, Liverpool. Interestingly, Manchester United, which now has 65 trophies in its collection, has never won the Europa League (UEFA Cup).

Taking into account 5th place in the domestic championship at the end of last season, Manchester United new season started with the group stage of the Europa League. The Mancunians ended up in Group A, qualifying for the playoffs in second place. Mourinho's team won 4 matches and lost 2. In the 1/16 finals, United easily defeated the French Saint-Etienne (4:0 on aggregate). In the 1/8 finals, the British were less confident, but they beat the Russian Rostov (2:1 on aggregate).

Approximate compositions:

The hosts approach the match in full combat readiness. The participation of the Belgians' main striking force, Lukasz Teodorichk, in the game is questionable; at yesterday's training, the Pole did not train in the main group. The Mancunians have more serious problems. Due to injuries, several key players will not play at once - Juan Mata, Chris Smalling, Ashley Young, Phil Jones, as well as goalkeeper David de Gea and Wayne Rooney.

Anderlecht: Martinez, Adjei, Kara, Spajic, Obradovic, Tielemans, Dendoncker, Stanciu, Cipciu, Telin, Hanni.

"Manchester United": Romero, Valencia, Rojo, Bailly, Shaw, Herrera, Fellaini, Mkhitaryan, Pogba, Rashford, Ibrahimovic.

Interesting facts and figures ahead of the match:

• The clubs played each other 6 times: 2 wins for Anderlecht, 4 wins for Manchester United;
• In the first match between these clubs, which took place back in 1956, Anderlecht suffered its biggest defeat in European competition, 0:10.
• Anderlecht met with representatives of England 32 times: 7 wins, 5 draws, 20 defeats.
• Apart from Anderlecht, the Mancunians played against the Belgian team only twice. In 2015, in qualifying for the Champions League, United defeated Brugge 11:1 on aggregate.
• Anderlecht have won 5 of their previous 6 home matches in European competition.
• Manchester United are unbeaten in 6 matches in European competition.
• Manchester United played fewer matches in European competition than Anderlecht 336 versus 388.
• Match odds: Anderlecht win - 4.75, draw - 3.60, Manchester win - 1.85.
• Prediction from Readfootball: Manchester United win.

Words before the match:

Jose Mourinho, Manchester United head coach: “I don’t want to say that we are giving up the fight to get into the top four in the Premier League. As long as there are even minimal mathematical chances, we will fight. If there is no chance left, we will focus all our attention on the Europa League. But I think that this may happen a little later, but for now we need to get past Anderlecht, otherwise there will be nothing to choose from.”

Rene Weiler, Anderlecht head coach:“Our main problem is Teodorchik. Lukasz continues to experience pain, so he did not train on Wednesday. I can say for sure that Telin will replace him in the starting lineup, and then we’ll see according to the circumstances. We are not considered favorites in the duel with Manchester United, but this does not mean that we will simply serve our number.”

An interesting match awaits us, most likely it will be a one-sided match. However, as practice shows this season, Manchester United can sit on the opponent's goal the entire game, create a lot of chances, but ultimately fail to score. Still, I believe that today the Mancunians will be able to distinguish themselves more than once. Anderlecht is playing at home, so the stands will not allow you to sit in defense for the entire match. My prediction for the game is a win for Manchester.

Jose Mourinho, albeit with slow steps, is approaching his first European trophy as Manchester United coach. Last Thursday, the Mancunians failed to hold on to their victory over the Belgian Anderlecht. However, a successful draw on the opponent's field leaves a great chance of advancing to the next round. Today the second part of the Anglo-Belgian confrontation for a ticket to the semi-finals took place. The match took place at the legendary Old Trafford, with Spanish referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco keeping order on the field.

Manchester United - Anderlecht 1:1 (additional time 2:1)

The Red Devils were unable to help the pair of central defenders Jones and Smalling, as well as attacking midfielder Juan Mata, due to injuries. Jose Mourinho opted for a 4-3-3 formation, making a couple of changes to his starting line-up. Sergio Romero took his place in the goal frame, and the experienced Michael Carrick replaced Herrera in the holding zone. The Purple and Whites also made several changes: from the first minutes Lukasz Teodorczyk played at the forefront of the attack, and the team switched to a 4-1-4-1 tactic.

First time

The Mancunians started the game calmly and were in no hurry to attack. In turn, the “purple-whites” rushed to attack from the first minutes, as a result of which they ran into a counterattack in the 10th minute, which became fatal. Henrikh Mkhitaryan took Rashford's pass and aimed a shot into the near corner from outside the penalty area, 1-0. Within a few minutes after the goal was scored, the hosts could increase their advantage twice. In the 12th minute, Paul Pogba's header from the right flank hit the crossbar. A minute later, Jesse Lingard tried to score with a dribble shot, but in that episode Ruben Martinez saved his team.

In the middle of the half, the hosts stopped attacking, obviously conserving strength, but the guests ran forward in large numbers. In the 21st minute, Rojo and Bailly collided in the fight for the ball, Acheampong took advantage of this, entered the penalty area and shot - the ball hit the net from the outside. A minute after this, a forced substitution occurred in the match. Marcos Rojo, who had been injured a few minutes earlier, left the field and was replaced by Daley Blind. In the 29th minute, the guests earned the right to take a dangerous free kick, Youri Tielemans shot straight into the goalkeeper's hands. After 3 minutes, Tielemans hit the crossbar from outside the penalty area, Teodorczyk got tangled up in his legs in an attempt to finish, but Sofyan Hanni was nearby, and he sent the ball into the net, 1-1.

Second half

In the opening of the second half, the teams exchanged dangerous chances. In the 47th minute, Lukasz Teodorczyk took advantage of the defenders' mistake, dragged the ball into the penalty area, but delayed the shot, as a result Antonio Valencia rescued the hosts. Manchester United responded two minutes later, Luke Shaw burst into the penalty area, crossed along the goal line, but no one managed to close it. The Mancunians were active in front; they understood that if they conceded another goal they would have to score twice. In the 65th minute, Rashford shot wide from mid-range. A few minutes later, Marcus Rashford lost a clear one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The striker beat the Anderlecht goalkeeper, but threw the ball too far and ultimately failed to shoot. In the 71st minute, Zlatan Ibrahimovic missed another 100% chance. After serving from the flank, the Swede received the ball at the far post, shot into the corner without resistance, but hit the defender.

Manchester United were desperate to score a second goal, wasting opportunity after opportunity. Anderlecht were not afraid to respond; it was clear that the guests were not happy with the extra time either. In the final minutes, the “red devils” besieged the opponent’s penalty area and organized the final assault. In the 80th minute, Zlatan did not take advantage of another chance, missing the goal from the area of ​​​​eleven meters. In the 89th minute, Ibrahimovic brought Rashford into a shooting position near the goal, the striker shot with his left foot, but missed. This was the last real opportunity in regulation time. The sum of the two matches was equal, so the game went into extra time.

Additional time

Already in the first minute of extra time, Pogba managed a spectacular overhead kick, the ball flew into the far corner, but the visiting defender protected his partners. United continued to put pressure on the Anderlecht goal, Pogba scored in the 101st minute, but the main referee of the match canceled the goal. This is because Fellaini helped himself with his hands during the scoring attack while fighting for the ball. In the first extra time, the Belgians also carried out a dangerous attack. In the 105th minute, Youri Tielemans shot from outside the penalty area, Romero failed to secure the ball, but there was no one to finish the shot. In the 107th minute, the “red devils” managed to break through the defensive redoubts of the “purple-whites”. After a throw into the penalty area, Fellaini threw the ball to Rashford, who used his heel to pass to his left foot and aimed a shot into the corner of the goal, 2-1. In the final minutes, Anderlecht ran chaotically forward, hoping to get even, the Mancunians tried to score again, but neither the first nor the second succeeded.

Thus, Manchester United defeats the Belgian Anderlecht in extra time in a difficult home match and earns a ticket to the semi-finals. In addition to the “red devils”, the Dutch “Ajax”, the Spanish “Celta” and the French “Lyon” made it there. The draw for the ½ final stage will take place tomorrow.