Manchester United took a big step towards the Europa League quarterfinals by thrashing Austrian side LASK Linz 5-0 on Thursday in its last 16 first-leg tie at an empty Linzer Stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Three other fixtures were also played behind closed doors, including Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 1-1 draw at 10-man Olympiakos.
The match in Athens was given the go-ahead despite the Greek club’s owner Evangelos Marinakis saying earlier on Thursday he had contracted the virus.
Bayer Leverkusen celebrated a 3-1 win at Rangers in front of a full house at Ibrox and Istanbul Basaksehir fans rejoiced after an 88th-minute penalty by Edin Visca gave it a 1-0 home win over FC Copenhagen.
Thunderbolt
Striker Odion Ighalo fired Manchester United ahead in the 28th minute as he juggled a Bruno Fernandes pass onto his left foot and unleashed a thunderbolt into the top corner from 18 metres.
Daniel James doubled the lead when he side-stepped his marker and buried a crisp low shot into the bottom corner, leaving keeper Alexander Schlager rooted to the spot.
Juan Mata made it 3-0 with a clinical finish from 10 metres after 82 minutes before substitutes Mason Greenwood and Andreas Pereira put the icing on the cake in stoppage time.
Olympiakos, which knocked out Arsenal in the previous round, had centre back Ruben Semedo sent off in the 28th minute for a last-man foul but Youssef El Arabi fired it ahead in the 54th with a close-range finish.
Pedro Neto levelled with a deflected shot from 23 metres as Wolves piled on the pressure after the break.
Rangers fell behind to a 37th-minute Kai Havertz penalty, given after a lengthy VAR check as George Edmundson handled a Charles Aranguiz cross. Aranguiz scored midway through the second half as he drilled in a half-cleared cross before Edmundson pulled one back for Rangers, heading home a James Tavernier corner.
Late goal
Substitute Leon Bailey put Leverkusen in the driving seat to reach the last eight with a classy late goal, leaving his marker flat-footed with a cheeky dribble before curling a sublime shot past goalkeeper Allan McGregor.
Two matches were postponed as Spanish side Getafe refused to travel to Italy and face Inter Milan while AS Roma said it could not travel to Spain to play Sevilla because of flight restrictions.
The results : last-16 : (first-leg) : LASK 0 lost to Manchester United 5 (Ighalo 28, James 58, Mata 82, Greenwood 90+2, Pereira 90+3); Eintracht Frankfurt 0 lost to Basel 3 (Campo 27, Bua 73, Frei 85); Istanbul Basaksehir 1 (Visca 88-pen) bt FC Copenhagen 0; Wolfsburg 1 (Brooks 48) lost to Shakhtar Donetsk 2 (Junior Moraes 17, Marcos Antonio 73); Rangers 1 (Edmunsdon 75) lost to Bayer Leverkusen 3 (Havertz 38-pen, Aranguiz 67, Bailey 88); Olympiakos 1 (El Arabi 54) drew with Wolverhampton Wanderers 1 (Pedro Neto 67) .
