Wins for Ajax, Celta and Lyon, Anderlecht hold United
Thursday, April 13, 2017
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Lyon left it late to beat Beşiktas, with the clock also ticking down when Anderlecht struck to hold Manchester United. Elsewhere, Ajax defeated Schalke and Celta got the better of Genk.
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Ajax, Celta Vigo and Lyon established first-leg leads in their UEFA Europa League quarter-final ties, with Manchester United held by Anderlecht thanks to a late goal in Brussels. Watch highlights of every game.
Thursday night's results (more details below; click for highlights)
Ajax 2-0 Schalke
Anderlecht 1-1 Manchester United
Celta 3-2 Genk
Lyon 2-1 Beşiktaş
Ajax 2-0 Schalke (Klaassen 23pen 52)
Davy Klaasen scored twice – the first an excellent penalty, the second a fine finish to Justin Kluivert's perfect cross – as Ajax took charge of this tie. The Eredivisie side have now gone 12 European home games without defeat, winning six out of six at the Amsterdam ArenA in the UEFA Europa League this season. They also hit the bar in each half.
Anderlecht 1-1 Manchester United (Dendoncker 86; Mkhitaryan 37)
Henrikh Mkhitaryan's fourth goal in seven UEFA Europa League appearances, which came after Jesse Lingard had been denied by a post, looked set to be enough for United to take a lead back to Old Trafford. Leander Dendoncker struck with a bullet header late on, though, to give Anderlecht a huge fillip ahead of their trip to Manchester.
Celta 3-2 Genk (Sisto 15, Aspas 18, Guidetti 38; Boëtius 10, Buffel 67)
Jean-Paul Boëtius headed Genk into an early lead, but Celta were quick to hit back courtesy of Pione Sisto's neat finish. Iago Aspas – up to first in the FedEx Performance Zone rankings after his performance on Thursday – then put the hosts in front with a low strike. John Guidetti gave the hosts a two-goal cushion which was later wiped out by substitute Thomas Buffel.
Lyon 2-1 Beşiktaş (Tolisso 83, Morel 85; Babel 15)
Lyon looked destined to be frustrated after Ryan Babel's first-half opener. The Ligue 1 outfit were denied by the crossbar in the first period and a post in the second, Beşiktaş somehow holding on to their advantage for nearly 70 minutes. However, the hosts had been scoring at a rate of four a game since entering the competition in the round of 16 and there was still time for two more here.