While You Were Asleep: Barcelona, Man United play 2-2 thriller in Europa League, Juventus suffer more frustration in draw with Nantes

Barcelona and Manchester United served up a thrilling 2-2 draw in the Europa League knockout playoffs Thursday that outranked anything seen in the Champions League this week.
The former European champions traded leads in a back-and-forth second half of their first-leg game at Camp Nou.
Barcelona struck first in the 50th minute on defender Marcos Alonso’s header from a corner and leveled in the 76th when Raphinha’s cross from the right wing curled into the net untouched. United’s defense was dracted Robert Lewandowski’s failed attempt to connect.
In between, Marcus Rashford showed just why Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández described him as one of the most dangerous forwards in Europe.
Barcelona’s Andreas Chrensen, left, Ronald Araujo, center, and Gavi are seen after the end of the Europa League playoff first leg soccer match between Barcelona and Manchester United at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023. The game ended 2-2. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)
Rashford beat goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen at his near post with a shot from a tight angle in the 53rd then created United’s go-ahead goal seven minutes later.
Receiving the ball at the touchline from a corner taken short, Rashford dribbled into the penalty area then fired a low cross that was flicked on Bruno Fernandes and bounced up to ricochet into the net off defender Jules Koundé for an own goal.
EUROPA LEAGUE
A game between two former Champions League finals saw Monaco captain Axel Disasi score with a long-range shot in stoppage time to seal a 3-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen.
Juventus was held 1-1 Nantes, after leading in the 13th on Dušan Vlahović’s goal, and seemed sure to be awarded a penalty for a handball in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Instead, after a two-minute review and consulting the pitchside screen, Portuguese referee João Pinheiro awarded Nantes a free kick for a foul the Juventus player Bremer.
Shakhtar Donetsk’s first competitive game of 2023 during the midwinter break for the Ukrainian league was a 2-1 win over Rennes in a “home” game played in neutral Warsaw.
Shakhtar’s first game since selling star winger Mykhailo Mudryk to Chelsea saw his replacement on the left flank, Dmytro Kryskiv, open the scoring in the 11th minute.
Sevilla, the record six-time champion, eased to a 3-0 win over PSV Eindhoven, and Salzburg will take a 1-0 lead to Roma next week thanks to Nicolas Capaldo’s header in the 88th. Coach José Mourinho’s team almost leveled when Andrea Belotti’s header was pushed on to the crossbar goalkeeper Philipp Köhn.
Ajax drew 0-0 at home to Union Berlin, the surprise Bundesliga title challenger. Sporting Lisbon got a stoppage-time goal from defender Sebastian Coates to draw 1-1 with Midtjylland.
EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE
Fiorentina’s 4-0 rout of home team Braga was the standout performance in the Europa Conference League knockout playoffs.
Forwards Luka Jović and substitute Arthur Cabral each scored twice, and Braga had defender Vitor Tormena sent off for a late tackle on Jović.
Five of the eight games ended in 1-0 wins for the home team: Trabzonspor over Basel, Qarabağ against Gent, Ludogorets over Anderlecht, and AEK Larnaca against Dnipro-1 of Ukraine.
Lazio’s goal against Cluj Ciro Immobile came deep in first-half stoppage time after Lazio defender Patric was sent off. It was 0-0 in Norway between Bodø/Glimt and Lech Poznan.
In Moldova, Sheriff lost 1-0 to visiting Partizan of Serbia in a game played in an empty stadium, ordered national authorities citing concern about an alleged Russian-backed plot to overthrow the government. – AP
Juventus suffer more frustration in draw with Nantes
Juventus’s disappointing season continued as they were held to a 1-1 draw Nantes in the home leg of their Europa League playoff tie on Thursday.
Juventus picked up one win from six Champions League group matches to drop into the Europa League playoffs and after also being deducted 15 Serie A points for financial irregularities their fans have endured a miserable campaign.
The playoff came as welcome relief for the Turin giants against a side lying 13th in French Ligue 1 and the hosts raced into an early lead when Serbian striker Dusan Vlahovic swept home Federico Chiesa’s header across goal.
Chiesa was unfortunate not to double his side’s advantage early in the second half after his powerful effort hit the underside of the crossbar, bounced on the goal line and came out.

Nantes capitalised on that let-off, however, to score a fine equaliser on the hour mark, Ludovic Blas slamming the ball into the net following a swift counter-attack.
The Nantes woodwork was again rattled when Angel Di Maria’s corner evaded everyone and clipped the crossbar, but a winner eluded Juve on another frustrating evening. – Reuters