NEW DELHI: Bruno Fernandes delivered a sensational performance as Manchester United stormed into the Europa League quarter-finals with a 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad at Old Trafford, securing a 5-2 aggregate win.
Fernandes opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 10th minute and added another in the 50th, again from 12 yards, after converting in the 16th minute as well. Real Sociedad, reduced to 10 men following Jon Aramburu’s red card just after the hour mark, couldn’t hold off the pressure.
Fernandes completed his hat-trick with a rifled finish in the 87th minute, and Diogo Dalot added a stoppage-time goal to seal the emphatic result. “We need to help him win titles, because he deserves it,” Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim told TNT Sports, praising his captain.
He added, “It was a good performance. The physicality was there… Even without the sending-off, you felt that the team were going to win this game.” United will face Lyon in the next round.
Tottenham Hotspur also progressed to the Europa League last eight after turning around a first-leg deficit to beat AZ Alkmaar 3-2 on aggregate. Wilson Odobert got the hosts level on aggregate with a 26th-minute strike, taking advantage of sloppy defending from the Dutch side.
Three minutes into the second half, James Maddison fired in a composed finish to put Spurs 2-0 up on the night. Peer Koopmeiners brought AZ back into the tie after the hour mark, but Odobert’s second goal in the 74th minute secured a 3-1 win on the night and sent Tottenham through.
“We’ve progressed, which is the main thing,” said Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou. “We played pretty well, I thought we were really in control of the game, but we were our own worst enemies at times. It got a bit nervy towards the end but we thoroughly deserved to progress.” Spurs will meet Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals.
Meanwhile, Rangers pulled off a dramatic shootout win over Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the Europa Conference League. After a 3-1 defeat in Istanbul, the Turkish side fought back in Glasgow with two goals from Polish winger Sebastian Szymanski in the 45th and 73rd minutes, levelling the aggregate score at 3-3 and sending the tie to extra time.
However, three missed penalties in the shootout saw Rangers advance 3-2. Mourinho was vocal in his frustration after the match. “We deserved to win over 90 minutes, we deserved to win after 120 minutes, we were the best team by far,” he said.
“We did everything to win. The ref and the VAR decided that we should go to penalties. Congratulations to Rangers but I think my team deserves everything from me, from our supporters and even from Turkey as a country.” Rangers will face Athletic Bilbao next.
Chelsea also secured their spot in the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League with a narrow 1-0 home win over Copenhagen, finishing 3-1 on aggregate. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored the only goal of the night 10 minutes into the second half at Stamford Bridge, ensuring progression for the Blues.
Elsewhere, Athletic Bilbao staged a comeback to eliminate Roma 4-3 on aggregate, powered by a vital brace from Euro 2024 winner Nico Williams. Roma’s hopes were dented early by a red card to centre-half Mats Hummels. Lazio, however, had better fortunes, drawing 1-1 with Viktoria Plzen at home to progress 3-2 overall.
In Frankfurt, Mario Goetze bagged a brace as Eintracht thrashed Ajax 4-1, completing a dominant 6-2 aggregate win. Lyon also impressed, smashing Romanian side FCSB 4-0 at home to seal a commanding 7-1 victory over two legs.
Olympiakos edged Bodo/Glimt 2-1 in Athens, but the Norwegians advanced with a 4-2 aggregate margin. Fiorentina, runners-up in both 2023 and 2024, overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Panathinaikos 3-1 in Tuscany, securing a 5-4 win on aggregate.
Finally, Celje of Slovenia advanced after a wild night in Switzerland against Lugano. Despite losing 5-4 to 10-man Lugano in regular time, Celje held their nerve in the penalty shootout to secure a place in the last eight.
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