Europa League Semi-final: Manchester United 6 – 2 AS Roma

Manchester United scored five second-half goals in an incredible second-half turnaround in Europa League semi-final first leg against AS Roma, as the Reds took a giant step towards the final in Gdansk.

United were 2-1 down at the break, but United fired five second-half goals to turn the tie hugely in our favour on a memorable Old Trafford night.

Roma endured a terrible first ten minutes with Jordan Veretout forced off injured before Bruno Fernandes clipped in the opening goal from Edinson Cavani’s adroit pass. Paulo Fonseca’s men regrouped, however, and quickly restored parity through Lorenzo Pellegrini’s penalty after Paul Pogba handballed.

The Giallorossi also lost goalkeeper Pau López and Leonardo Spinazzola to injuries before the break yet, in between, took the lead when Pellegrini slid in a low cross for Edin Džeko to bury.

It was a different story after half-time as United found their brilliant best, with Cavani spearheading the turnaround. The Uruguayan struck twice to make it 3-2, with a Bruno Fernandes penalty, Pogba header and Mason Greenwood finish giving Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s men a commanding advantage going into the return.

ROMA Injury Woes at Old Trafford

While it was a memorable first-half for the visitors in terms of goals, it was one to forget for injuries. The Giallorossi lost three key players in the space of 32 minutes with injury problems and it will be interesting to see whether all three will be fit enough for the second leg a week tonight.

After just five minutes former Aston Villa midfielder Jordan Veretout pulled up while trying to escape the attentions of Luke Shaw and was replaced by Gonzalo Villar. Goalkeeper Pau Lopez was next to leave the action, on 28 minutes, after damaging his shoulder, leading to the introduction of 37-year-old second-choice stopper Antonio Mirante.

Defender Leonardo Spinazzola then made his way off after 37 minutes, with Bruno Peres coming on. After not making any more changes at the break, that was the last change the visitors could make due to the rules stating you could only make subs in three blocks, as well as at half-time.

Key facts:

• The total of eight goals matched the record for goals scored in a single UEFA Europa League game.
• United have not lost at home in a European semi-final since April 1997, winning five and drawing three games since.
• Bruno Fernandes has scored 20 of his 21 penalties taken for Manchester United in all competitions.
• Roma are the first team to make three substitutions in the first half of a UEFA Europa League match.
• Edin Džeko has scored six goals in his last five appearances against United at Old Trafford.

What’s next ?

The second leg takes place in Rome next Thursday, but before then there are league games on Sunday: Manchester United host Liverpool while Roma travel to Sampdoria in Serie A.

Match – Stats:

Post-Match Reaction :

Paul Pogba, Man. United midfielder:

“The result is positive, but it’s not finished. In the first half, we made two mistakes and conceded two goals. When we conceded the second, we were a bit all over the place. At half-time, we said, ‘Let’s do the right things, let’s do the simple things.’ We were all motivated and determined to go and score as many goals as possible.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Man. United manager:

“We took most of our chances today, so we’re very pleased. The character showed – we came back, we didn’t lose our heads. For five, ten minutes at the end of the first half we didn’t look great, but we got it together.”

Paulo Fonseca, Roma coach:

“It’s difficult to explain how the same team that did so well in the first half had that kind of second half. It’s hard to play against a side like United without having the substitutions. It’s positive to reach this stage of the competition anyway, and also to play like we did in the first half. But in the second half we got everything wrong.”