Europa League kings Sevilla stun Manchester Unitd; Roma, Juve progress

MILAN: Europa League kings Sevilla breezed past Manchester United into the semi-finals of their favourite competition as Youssef En Nesyri scored twice in a dominant 3-0 win on Thursday that secured a 5-2 aggregate triumph.

Both En Nesyri's goals came from mistakes by United goalkeeper David de Gea while trying to play the ball with his feet and it was a listless and error-strewn performance by the English side.

Sevilla were relentless with their high pressing and United, who led the first leg 2-0 before conceding two late goals at Old Trafford, never threatened to get back into the game amid a raucous atmosphere at a sold-out Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.

Languishing in the bottom half of LaLiga during a difficult season in which two managers have been fired, Sevilla rediscovered their mojo at Old Trafford to grab a late 2-2 draw.

It took only eight minutes for Sevilla to open the scoring after De Gea delivered a hospital pass to Harry Maguire who was challenged by Erik Lamela and En Nesyri scooped up the loose ball to net from close range.

Sevilla wasted several chances and Lucas Ocampos had a goal ruled out by VAR due to offside in the build-up shortly before halftime.

United manager Erik ten Hag brought on Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw as halftime substitutes but straight after the interval Sevilla defender Loic Bade scored with a towering header from a corner which went in off the crossbar.

En Nesyri wrapped up the win in the 81st minute after United goalkeeper David De Gea failed to deal with a long ball over the top and the Morocco striker finished well to move the Spanish side closer to a record-extending seventh victory in the competition.

Juventus draw with Sporting to book semi-final spot

An early goal by midfielder Adrien Rabiot earned Juventus a 1-1 draw with Sporting in an entertaining Europa League clash on Thursday to win their quarter-final 2-1 on aggregate and set up a semi-final clash with Sevilla.

Juventus, who saw their 15-point deduction in Serie A over the club's transfer dealings scrapped earlier on Thursday pending a new trial, had earned a 1-0 victory in the first leg with a second-half goal by defender Federico Gatti.

They will meet Sevilla in the semi-finals, with the Italians at home first on May 11 before the return leg in Spain on May 18, after the Spanish side knocked out Manchester United 5-2 on aggregate.

Juventus took an early lead through Rabiot who netted from close range after nine minutes following a corner.

Sporting winger Marcus Edwards equalised from the penalty spot in the 20th minute when he sent Juve keeper Wojciech Szczesny the wrong way with a strike into the middle of the goal after Rabiot was penalised for a tackle on Manuel Ugarte.

The Lisbon side had hit the woodwork moments before.

Sporting came close to taking a surprise lead and levelling the tie in the 35th minute when defender Ousmane Diomande connected with a corner but his header narrowly missed the target.

Just before halftime, Sporting winger Nuno Santos tried to square the ball inside the box coming from the left but Juve defender Gleison Bremer blocked the threat right in front of the diving Szczesny.

After the break Sporting pressed with confidence for possession but they squandered three more opportunities to level the match.

Ruben Amorim's side should have found the net in the 75th minute when defender Ricardo Esgaio latched on to a pass on the edge of the box only to see his volley fly over the bar, while Sebastian Coates spurned two more chances minutes from time.

Sporting have now completed a run of five home European matches without a win for the first time in the club's history, having recorded two losses and two draws in their previous four.

They have lost each of their last seven ties with Italian clubs.

Roma score twicein extra time

Stephan El Shaarawy and Lorenzo Pellegrini scored in extra time to earn hosts AS Roma a spot in the Europa League semi-finals after defeating Dutch side Feyenoord 4-1 on Thursday for a 4-2 aggregate win.

El Shaarawy converted a cross from Tammy Abraham after 101 minutes and captain Pellegrini, who missed a penalty in last week's first leg, sealed the win seven minutes later when he slotted in a rebound from an Abraham shot.

Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho was full of praise for his team after reaching his second European semi-final in a row with Roma, following last season's Conference League title.

After Feyenoord had won the quarter-final first leg 1-0, Roma pushed for the opening goal from the start, missing two great opportunities in the first 10 minutes.

The visitors became more involved in the match, with Roma keeper Rui Patricio forced to deny Sebastian Szymanski from close range.

Immediately after halftime, Roma had an excellent chance when a cross found Pellegrini at the near post but his shot hit the post.

"I have to say that the emotions started before the match. You know you have to win for these people who give everything for us – and, consequently, we have to give everything for them," Pellegrini said.

On the hour mark, roars of relief erupted around the Stadio Olimpico when Leonardo Spinazzola took advantage of a deflection in the box to poke the ball into the bottom corner.

Mourinho started with key players Paulo Dybala and Abraham on the bench, after they suffered injuries early in the first leg, but he sent them on midway through the second half to chase a decider.

In the 80th minute, Brazilian Igor Paixao headed in an equaliser for the visitors, unmarked inside the box from a cross by Szymanski, only for Dybala to level the aggregate score one minute before stoppage time with a shot from a tricky angle.

Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez received a straight red card in the game's final moments for a knee-high tackle on Gianluca Mancini.

Roma will meet Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-finals on May 11 and 18 after the German side knocked out Union Saint-Gilloise 5-2 on aggregate.

Leverkusen crush hosts Union 4-1 to book last-four spot

Bayer Leverkusen eased into the Europa League semi-finals after crushing hosts Union Saint-Gilloise of Belgium 4-1 on Thursday for a 5-2 aggregate win that stretched their unbeaten run to 12 straight matches across all competitions.

The result means Leverkusen, the last German team left in any European competition this season, have reached their first European semi-final in 21 years while ending Union's fairytale maiden run in the Europa League.

Leverkusen, who face AS Roma in the last four, proved extremely efficient, needing just 66 seconds for Diaby to round keeper Anthony Moris and finish a quick move by the Germans to open the scoring.

They added another goal on the break in the 38th with Mitchel Bakker volleying in at the far post before they were gifted a third on the hour courtesy of a big Moris blunder.

Under pressure from Bakker, the keeper sent the ball straight into the path of Jeremie Frimpong who only had to kick it into the empty goal.

The Belgians did breath some life into their game, cutting the deficit with Casper Terho's fine shot in the 65th, but could not find another goal despite more pressure

Leverkusen made sure they snapped their opponents' nine-game unbeaten run when Adam Hlozek pounced on a weak Moris save to make it 4-1 in the 79th. Agencies

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