The two bitter rivals were meeting on the European stage of the first time ever, and goals from Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino gave the home side a significant advantage at the halfway stage of the tie
Browsing: Europa League
The North-West enemies, who secured progression into the round last night, were paired in Friday’s draw in Nyon, France
As in the first leg, United lost a key man in the warm-up with Anthony Martial forced to make way for Rashford, who was promoted from the bench to deputise for the French forward
Louis van Gaal’s side were part of the draw in Nyon, France on Monday afternoon after they dropped out of the Champions League following a 3-2 defeat to Wolfsburg last week
The Italian took the ball off Jordan Henderson after Jordon Ibe won the spot-kick and casually slotted home from 12 yards as the Reds earned first blood in the tie
Former Rennes and Nice defender Onyekachi Apam reportedly signed with Seattle Sounders FC prior to the roster deadline date. The team has not announced the signing yet, but is expected to do so tomorrow.
Nigerian international Ikechukwu Uche is the big novelty in Villarreal’s squad to take on Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Europa League game to be played today in Germany.
Villarreal dominated the first half powered by the excellent Giovani Dos Santos, Moi Gomez and Manu Trigueros
Younes Belhanda slotted home the third for Kiev while the hosts scored two goals via an own goal by Beniot Tremoulinas and Marat Khayrullin
Mikel believed that the top three finish on the Premier League log will present him another opportunity to give the Champions League title another shot after winning it a few years ago
Chelsea youngster, Nemanja Matic, in central midfield, while Pablo Aimar, a Spanish Liga winner under Benitez at Valencia, was on the bench
As it stands, only Chelsea have good chance of making the semi finals, with Tottenham and Newcastle needing to do some extra work in the April 11 second leg
With Arsenal and Manchester United’s exit from the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League, coupled with Chelsea’s and Manchester City’s failure to progress past the group stages of the tournament, British soccer fans can take consolation in Europa cup glory
On the day Tottenham romped to an impressive 3-0 win over the Italian giants, Inter Milan, at White Hart Lane, Chelsea lost away by lone goal to Steaua Bucuresti while Newcastle drew goalless with Anzhi Makhachkala
However, the Blues themselves suffered the heartache of being dumped into the Europa melting pot when they became the first Champions League winners to exit at the group stage
While Chelsea got a deserving away win, Liverpool was dismissed by Zenit St. Petersburg 2-0
The first legs of the matches are to be played on February 14, 2013 while the second legs are scheduled for February 21, 2013
Chelsea, the cup holders, will face the battle of their lives when they engage Italian champions, Juventus, in Turin