EUROPA LEAGUE: Man United maintained their unbeaten record in Europe this season with the first win of coach Ruben Amorim’s tenure against a spirited Bodo/Glimt side
AP
Rasmus Hojlund scored twice as Manchester United fought back to beat Norwegian team Bodo/Glimt 3-2 in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday to give new manager Ruben Amorim a victory in his first game at Old Trafford.
Hojlund also set up the opening goal scored by Alejandro Garnacho in the opening minute of the game, but United still had to stage a comeback to stay unbeaten in the competition with two victories and three draws.
“I see what everybody sees: good moments, difficult moments,” Amorim told TNT Sports.
Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund celebrates after scoring his side’s second goal during their UEFA Europa League soccer match against Bodo/Glimt at Old Trafford in Manchester, England, yesterday.
Photo: AP
“There was some confusion in the end, trying to hold on to the result, but the lads did a great job. They ran, they pressed, they tried to do the things we have worked on in the last three days and we won,” he added.
After the visitors took a 2-1 lead, Hojlund equalized just before halftime and then scored the winner five minutes into the second half from close range, tapping in a cross from Manuel Ugarte.
After leaving Portuguese league leaders Sporting Lisbon to replace the fired Erik ten Hag as United manager, Amorim made his debut in charge of United in a 1-1 draw at Ipswich in the English Premier League with Marcus Rashford scoring 81 seconds into the game.
Besiktas and Maccabi Tel Aviv players line up before their UEFA Europa League match at Nagyerdei Stadion in Debrecen, Hungary, on Thursday. The match was played in a neutral venue due to security concerns amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Photo: REUTERS
In the Europa League, the goal came even sooner.
Hojlund intercepted a back pass to goalkeeper Nikita Haikin to allow Garnacho to put United ahead in the 1st minute.
Hakon Evjen equalized in the 19th minute with a perfectly directed first-time left-foot strike from the edge of the area and Philip Zinckernagel gave the Norwegian champion the lead, finishing off a fast counter after Tyrell Malacia failed to stop him.
Malacia made his first senior appearance in 550 days and was substituted at halftime by Diogo Dalot.
TOTTENHAM
Tottenham continued to show inconsistent form as they were held 2-2 at home by struggling Roma. Tottenham lost 3-2 to Galatasaray in the previous round, then beat Manchester City 4-0 away in the Premier League, and gave up a late equalizer against Roma.
Captain Son Heung-min gave Spurs an early lead with a 5th-minute penalty, but Evan N’Dicka pulled Roma level in the 20th minute. Brennan Johnson restored the lead for Tottenham in the first half, but the hosts could not hang on as Mats Hummels salvaged a draw in stoppage time.
Earlier, Athletic Bilbao cruised past Elfsborg 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday to join Lazio and Frankfurt at the top the 36-team standings,
Lazio missed a chance to remain the only team with a perfect record after five games as they were held 0-0 by Bulgarian champions Ludogorets at Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
In Spain, Adama Boiro, Benat Prados and Gorku Guruzeta all scored for Bilbao.
Frankfurt, the 2022 UEFA Europa League winner, won 2-1 at Danish champions Midtjylland.
Like in the new-look UEFA Champions League, the top eight teams after the eight-round league phase advance directly to the round of 16 in March, and teams placed from ninth to 24th enter a playoff in February.
Among other results, Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce rebounded from their first defeat at Alkmaar (3-1) with a 2-1 win at Slavia Prague, beaten 2022 Europe League finalists Rangers won 4-1 at Nice, Ajax lost 2-0 to Real Sociedad and Braga eased past Hoffenheim 3-0.
Galatasaray drew 1-1 away at AZ Alkmaar after Victor Osimhen equalized for the Turkish club before halftime with his third goal in his past two Europa League games. Sven Mijnans scored early for Alkmaar, who finished the game with 10 men after substitute Kees Smit was sent off in injury time.
Georges Mikaukadze scored two goals while substitute Corentin Tolisso and Malick Fofana added one each for Lyon to rout host Qarabag 4-1.
MACCABI TEL-AVIV
Maccabi Tel-Aviv ended a four-game losing run with a 3-1 victory over Besiktas in a game played at a neutral venue in Debrecen, Hungary, after Turkish authorities decided not to host the match.
That decision followed unrest after Maccabi’s recent Europa League game in Amsterdam, where at least five fans were injured in violent street attacks, after their team’s 5-0 loss to Ajax.
The game was played without fans at the request of Hungarian authorities.
Gavriel Kanichowsky, Dor Perets and Weslley Patati had a goal apiece for the Israeli team, while Rafa Silva netted for Besiktas.
Dynamo Kyiv lost their fifth straight game, this time 2-1 to Viktoria Plzen. The consolation goal for the Ukrainian team, scored by Vladyslav Kobaiev in stoppage time, was the first for Dynamo in the competition.
The game was played at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg, Germany, due to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
CONFERENCE LEAGUE
Chelsea have been cruising in the third-tier UEFA Conference League with their fourth win from four after beating Heidenheim 2-0.
In a matchup between two teams that were unbeaten in the competition, Christopher Nkunku broke the deadlock in the second half from close range before Mykhailo Mudryk roofed the second from inside the area.
Legia Warsaw remain the only other perfect team after a 3-0 win at Omonia in Cyprus.
Additional reporting by staff writer
