Youssef El-Arabi on Thursday scored in the last minute of extra-time as Olympiakos knocked Arsenal out of the UEFA Europa League on a night when four former European champions were eliminated.
Ajax, Celtic, SL Benfica and Porto went out, but Manchester United hardly broke a sweat after Simon Deli of Club Brugge conceded a penalty and earned a red card in the 23rd minute at Old Trafford and won 5-0.
Arsenal had won the first leg of the round of 32 tie 1-0 in Greece. Defender Pape Abou Cisse canceled out that advantage when he headed in a corner after 53 minutes.
Photo: Reuters
Arsenal could not break through and were forced into extra time.
Giorgos Masouras hit the bar for Olympiakos in the 112th minute and a minute later Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck for Arsenal, putting them back in front with a spectacular flying kick.
However, in the final minute of extra time, Arsenal cleared an Olympiakos corner, but were still disorganized when the ball was swung back into the area. The cross found El Arabi free in front of the goal for an unchallenged shot.
“Very hard, very tough,” Aubameyang said. “Their last-minute goal was unlucky for us.”
Last year, Arsenal reached the final.
“It hurts a lot,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said. “Attack against defense in 25m is difficult, but we created enough chances to win the game comfortably.”
Olympiakos coach Pedro Martins was delighted.
“We were determined, we believed we could qualify and we made it,” he said. “Tactical intelligence, effectiveness, inner strength, courage ... they all weighed in this success.”
At Old Trafford, one of United’s recent signings, Bruno Fernandes, gave the hosts the lead with a penalty after Deli’s flying intervention.
The other new boy, Odion Ighalo, making his first start, hit his first goal for the club in the 34th minute.
For the Nigerian, who says United were his childhood club, it was a moment to celebrate, but the emotion was mixed.
Ighalo lifted his shirt to reveal a picture of his sister, Mary Atole, who died suddenly at her home in Canada in December last year. Ighalo also has her name stitched into his boots.
“I have been waiting for this,” Ighalo said. “It’s a moment I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”
Scott McTominay and Fred, with two late goals, completed the 5-0 rout and 6-1 aggregate win.
“The football we played at times pleased me the most,” Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said. “The players are smiling, they are playing with confidence and that is what we want. The new lads have brought that in.”
Ajax, Champions League semi-finalists last year, kicked off two goals down to Getafe, this season’s La Liga surprise team, and conceded another after five minutes.
Jaime Mata exploited tentative Ajax defending to spin and drill in a low shot from close range, which left the hosts needing to score four.
They managed two, the first from young Brazilian Danilo Pereira, with his first for the club, and an own-goal when Mathias Olivera deflected a free kick.
Getafe held on comfortably.
Copenhagen scored three goals on three shots as they won 3-1 at Celtic, but deserved the victory.
Jozo Simunovic’s weak back pass gave Copenhagen the ball close to goal after 51 minutes and Micheal Santos completed the punishment.
“It just wasn’t our day and we’re big boys — we can take it on the chin and we’ve got to make sure we bounce back,” Celtic captain Craig Brown said.
Benfica went out 5-4 on aggregate after repeatedly throwing away the initiative as they drew 3-3 at home to Romanians Cluj.
Porto lost 3-1 at home to Bayer 04 Leverkusen to go out 5-2 overall.
Inter beat Ludogorets 2-1 to advance 4-1 in a match played in an empty San Siro, because fans were banned in an effort to keep the virus from spreading.
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