Juventus advance to semi-finals despite Sporting's efforts

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Web Desk
Sporting Lisbon´s Portuguese midfielder Pedro Goncalves vies with Juventus´ Brazilian defender Alex Sandro (back) during the UEFA Europa league quarter final second leg football match between Sporting CP and Juventus at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on April 20, 2023. AFP
Sporting Lisbon´s Portuguese midfielder Pedro Goncalves vies with Juventus´ Brazilian defender Alex Sandro (back) during the UEFA Europa league quarter final second leg football match between Sporting CP and Juventus at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on April 20, 2023. AFP

Manchester United suffered a crushing defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League quarter-final second leg on Thursday, leading to their exit from the competition. 

Sevilla dominated the game and clinched a 3-0 win, making it a 5-2 aggregate victory. United, who were leading 2-0 in the first leg, eventually conceded two own goals, leading to a draw in the first leg. However, they couldn't recover from the collapse, and goalkeeper David de Gea had a disastrous night. 

In the match, De Gea made several errors, including gifting a goal to Youssef En-Nesyri after rolling a pass to an isolated Harry MaGuire. Loic Bade headed onto his own shoulder, and the ball went over De Gea in the 47th minute. En-Nesyri completed the victory with a goal in the 81st minute. 

Juventus advanced to the semi-finals after holding Sporting to a 1-1 draw in Lisbon. They won 2-1 on aggregate, with Adrian Rabiot scoring a goal in the ninth minute. Marcus Edwards converted a penalty for Sporting in the 20th minute. 

The home team struggled to break down Juventus's defence, and Ricardo Esgaio and Sebastian Coates missed Sporting's best chances in the closing minutes. The Juventus coach, Massimiliano Allegri, said that he had anticipated Sevilla's win, and the two clubs will face each other in the next round.

Elsewhere in the Europa League, Bayer Leverkusen eliminated Union Saint-Gilloise 5-2, and AS Roma beat Feyenoord 4-1 in extra time to advance 4-2. Gent lost 4-1 to West Ham, and Nice went out 3-2 on aggregate after losing 2-1 to Basel in extra time.

In other news, Italy's highest sporting court revoked a 15-point Serie A points deduction for illicit transfer activity for Juventus but asked that the case should be re-examined.

The decision was announced earlier in the evening, and the club celebrated the news as they advanced to the next round of the Europa League. Bayer Leverkusen will face Roma in the semi-finals.