After the conclusion of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 second leg action kicked off as teams tried to reach the latter stages. On an eventful night on Thursday, Manchester United eliminated AC Milan as they defeated them 1-0 in Milan whereas Tottenham Hotspurs crashed out of the competition after slipping up a 2-0 first leg lead.
First of we look back at the matchup between Dinamo Zagreb vs Tottenham Hotspurs. A brace from Spurs main man Harry Kane had given them a comfortable 2-0 home way against the Croatian Champions. They arrived in Zagreb knowing that a repeat performance of the first leg will be more than enough to go through. But it's Spurs we are talking about. They like to do things the hard way.
The 2019 Champions League runners up have been struggling for consistency in the Premier League. Having lost to Arsenal in the North London Derby on Sunday, Spurs knew a lot of it was riding on them in this Competition.
After a goalless first half, things sparked off to life when Mislav Orsic scored a beautiful goal by whipping the ball into the top right corner leaving Lloris with no chance to make it 1-0 on the night and 1-2 on agg in the 63rd minute. Till the 75th minute Zagreb had attempted 16 shots on target compared to Spurs 4, signalling their intent.
Spurs tried hard to salvage an away goal to take the tie beyond all doubt. Zagreb's hardwork was rewarded with a second goal in the 82nd minute when Orsic was at the end of team goal to smash it home into the left hand corner from the penalty spot to make it 2-2 on aggregate. Kane thought he had won the game for Spurs in the 85th minute through a header, but the ball was cleared off the line by Zagreb defender Theophile-Catherine.
Zagreb completed the comeback in the 106th minute in extra time when Orsic grabbed home the matchball after cutting past several Spurs Defender and placing his effort in the bottom left hand corner with the right foot. Spurs had a late chance in the 116th minute but some superb piece of keeping from Keeper Dominik Livakovic who pulled out a double safe kept Spurs at Bay as Zagreb booked their place in Quarter Finals.
The headline fixture of the UEL Round of 16 this year was undoubtedly between AC Milan and Manchester United. After a late goal from Simon Kjær had earned them an away goal, Milan knew a clean sheet would be enough for them to go through.
Just like Zagreb vs Spurs, the first half between Milan and United was goalless with both cancelling each other out. At the start of the second half, United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjær replaced Marcus Rashford with the returning Paul Pogba. The Frenchman made an immediate impact coming off the bench when he broke the deadlock in the 49th minute.
Milan were unable to clear their lines after a strike from Daniel James which caused problems for them in the box. Fred then rolled the ball to Pogba who still had a lot to do, but he was able to place the ball over Donnarumma from a tight angle to give put United ahead on the night and the tie.
As a result of that United advanced to the Quarter Finals and knocked out AC Milan for whom a promising season has suddenly taken a big toll. Stefano Poli' side will now hope their league form doesn't stutter as they still fight for the Italian crown.
Results of Second leg Full-
Arsenal 0-1 Olympiacos [Arsenal win 3-2 on agg]
Dinamo Zagreb 3-0 Tottenham Hotspurs (AET) [Dinamo Zagreb win 3-2 on agg]
Molde 2-1 Granada [Granada win 2-3 on agg]
Shaktar Donetsk 1-2 AS Roma [AS Roma win 1-5 on agg]
AC Milan 0-1 Manchester United [United win 1-2 on agg]
Ranger 0-2 Slavia Prague [Slavia win 1-3 on agg]
Villarreal 2-0 Dynamo Kyiv [Villarreal win 4-0 on agg]
Young Boys 0-2 Ajax [Ajax win 0-5 on agg]
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