Paul Pogba on Thursday scored the winner on his return from injury as Manchester United beat AC Milan 1-0 to join Arsenal in the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals, while Dinamo Zagreb knocked out Tottenham Hotspur after extra-time in Croatia.
The France midfielder struck the only goal at the San Siro four minutes after replacing Marcus Rashford as a halftime substitute, scooping home after an ugly scramble inside the Milan penalty area.
United goalkeeper Dean Henderson produced an excellent reflex save to deny Zlatan Ibrahimovic an equalizer against his old club and secure a 2-1 aggregate victory for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team.
Photo: AFP
“We’ve come through a very difficult tie against a fantastic club and we’ve overcome some difficulties,” Solskjaer told BT Sport. “We’ve missed Paul, he’s been out for almost two months. He was just getting into his best form. He’s going to give us a big boost for the rest of the season.”
The three-time European champions are one of two English clubs in the draw for the last eight, as Arsenal also qualified, despite suffering a 1-0 loss to Olympiacos in the second leg.
Youssef El-Arabi’s deflected second-half strike earned Olympiacos another victory at the Emirates, but Arsenal advanced 3-2 on aggregate, avenging their exit to the Greek side on away goals last season.
“Really happy to be through. We had a tough opponent, so happy to be through. Sometimes we have to be fair with ourselves — we were nowhere near the levels we could be,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said.
Jose Mourinho’s Spurs crashed out of the competition after surrendering a 2-0 lead from the first leg, with Dinamo forward Mislav Orsic scoring a brilliant hat-trick for the Croatian champions.
Dinamo coach Zoran Mamic resigned this week after being sentenced to four years, eight months in jail for fraud involving Luka Modric’s move to Tottenham and other transfers.
However, Orsic curled in a marvelous shot from the corner of the penalty area to give Dinamo the lead on 62 minutes and then capped off a fine move with a thumping finish to send the match to extra-time.
Orsic completed his treble in style as he ran past three players and hammered a low drive beyond Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris from the edge of the penalty area on 106 minutes.
Harry Kane nearly snatched a late goal that would have put Spurs through on away goals, but his effort was clawed out by Dinamo goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic as the hosts won 3-2 on aggregate.
“My team didn’t bring to the game the basics of football or life — to respect our jobs and give everything. I can only apologize to the Tottenham supporters,” Mourinho said. “If I forget the last 10 minutes of extra-time, where we did something to get a different result, the 90 minutes and first half of extra-time was one team leaving everything on the pitch. My team didn’t look like it was playing an important match. Another attitude is needed. To say I feel sad is not enough. What I feel is much more than sadness.”
Steven Gerrard’s Rangers finished with nine men in a 2-0 home loss to Slavia Prague, as the Czech side won 3-1 on aggregate.
Peter Olayinka gave Slavia an early lead at Ibrox and Rangers’ hopes of a comeback suffered a double blow when Kemar Roofe and Leon Balogun were sent off for the Scottish champions in the second half.
Nicolae Stanciu’s free-kick immediately after Balogun’s dismissal ensured victory for Slavia.
Ajax made sure of their passage to the next round as a David Neres goal and Dusan Tadic penalty rounded off a 5-0 aggregate win over BSC Young Boys.
Gerard Moreno’s double in Spain gave Villarreal a second 2-0 victory over Dynamo Kiev in as many weeks, while Granada extended their debut run in Europe, going through 3-2 on aggregate despite a 2-1 loss to Norway’s Molde in Budapest.
AS Roma also progressed as a 2-1 victory courtesy of two goals from Borja Mayoral against Shakhtar Donetsk in Kiev wrapped up a 5-1 win on aggregate.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
The sacred flame for the Paris Olympics was lit yesterday in Olympia, Greece, the birthplace of the ancient Games, in a ceremony inspired by antiquity and marked by messages of hope amid multiple global crises. “In ancient times, the Olympic Games brought together the Greek city states, even — and in particular — during times of war and conflict,” International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach said. “Today, the Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. Then as now, the Olympic athletes are sending this powerful message — yes, it is possible to compete fiercely