Sporting Lisbon knocked Arsenal out of the Europa League with a penalty shoot-out win after a fine equalizer from Pedro Goncalves, while Manchester United and Juventus advanced to the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Sporting fell behind when Granit Xhaka put Premier League leaders Arsenal ahead at the Emirates Stadium.
But Portugal midfielder Gonçalves forced extra time when he caught Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale with a breathtaking strike from 46 yards out.
With reality television star Kim Kardashian and her Arsenal fan son Saint among the spectators, the match ended level at 1–1 on the night and 3–3 on aggregate, with penalties being required to settle the tie.
Sporting emerged with a shock 5–3 victory in the shoot-out as Gabriel Martinelli’s effort was saved by Antonio Aden and Nuno Santos dispatched the winning kick.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said the result was “a massive blow” and blamed his side for wasting opportunities.
The Spaniard said, “There were moments in the first 75 minutes where we were not at our level. We threw every ball away and we did not have the ability to take the game.”
“It was likely to win it in extra time. There was a lot of uncertainty with Penn. It was a very tough game.”
It was a very quiet night for Manchester United as Marcus Rashford’s curling strike from distance earned a 1–0 win at Real Betis and a 5–1 aggregate success.
Joaquin hit the post for Betis and Juanmi created two clear chances for the hosts as they started well, doing their best to overcome their three-goal deficit at the lively Benito Villamarin Stadium.
However, a brilliant Rashford goal early in the second half ended the tie.
Manchester United boss Erik ten Haag said, “Once you score the first goal it’s game over, and they lose faith.”
“It’s another step (forward) we’ve built a winning attitude mentally to deal with it.”
– Juventus advance smoothly –
Three-time champions Juventus secured a 2–0 win over 10-man Freiburg, with goals from Dusan Vlahovic and Federico Chiesa, to progress 3–0 on aggregate.
Juventus, leading Freiburg by a goal from the first leg, had taken the lead when Vlahovic struck from close range, but it was ruled out by VAR.
The Serbian forward broke the deadlock just before the break from the penalty spot after a tackle by Manuel Gulde in the box and was shown his second yellow card.
With Juventus in complete control and Freiburg at a numerical disadvantage, the tie was as good as it got and Chiesa scored a late win.
Sevilla, a record six-time winner of the competition, lost 1–0 at Fenerbahçe as Enner Valencia scored from the spot, but still qualified 2–1 on aggregate.
Jorge Sampaoli’s Sevilla, who are struggling badly in La Liga, suffered defeat in Turkey but did enough at home to progress against Fenerbahce and continue their relegation.
An early injury to Micky Batsui for the hosts hurt their comeback bid, but Jorge Jesus’ side took the lead when Alex Telles volleyed into the box.
The veteran Ecuador striker Valencia scored his 24th goal of the season for Fenerbahce.
Sevilla made progress despite pressure from the hosts in the second half, as they looked for a second goal to force extra time.
Feyenoord beat Shakhtar Donetsk 7–1 on the night in De Kuip to progress to the last eight 8–2 on aggregate.
Jose Mourinho’s Roma drew 0–0 at Real Sociedad to take a 2–0 aggregate lead, while Bayer Leverkusen won 2–0 at Ferencvaros to take a 4–0 aggregate success.
In the UEFA Conference League last 16, Fiorentina beat Sivasspor 4–1, winning 5–1 on aggregate, but were knocked out by Serie A partner Lazio, 2–1 at AZ Alkmaar on the night and Lost 4–2 on aggregate.
West Ham beat AEK Larnaca 4–0 to complete a 6–0 aggregate haul, with Anderlecht beating Villarreal 2–1 after a 1–0 win in Spain.
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