Stade Rennais lost to Shakhtar Donetsk in the first leg of the Europa League (1-2) on Thursday. At the same time, the clash between FC Barcelona and Manchester United ended in a draw (2-2).
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The nightmarish first period of Stade Rennais did not affect its chances of qualification. Thursday, February 16, the Breton club played its first leg of the Europa League against the Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk in Warsaw (Poland), due to the war in Ukraine. Shakhtar’s players took advantage of mistakes made by the Rennes defense to win (1-2). The long-awaited match between Barça and Manchester United took a while to get started but ended up being prolific (2-2).
Rennes youth crack against Shakhtar
Bruno Génésio’s choices did not pay off. While his team is going through a difficult phase – five defeats in their last seven games – the Rennes coach has decided to rotate his squad against Shakhtar Donetsk, fielding several young players. A questionable choice given the face of the match and the mistakes of Djed Spence (22) or Lesley Ugochukwu (18), which led to the two Ukrainian goals from Dmytro Kryskiv (11th) and Artem Bondarenko (45th + 1).
If they had not played since November 23 in an official match, the players of Shakhtar managed this European confrontation much better than the inexperienced Rennais. Fortunately for the latter, qualification is still possible. Karl Toko Ekambi reduced the score (59th) and helped keep the Breton club alive before the return match, which will take place in a week at Roazhon Park in Rennes.
Raphinha responds to Rashford at Camp Nou
It was THE game that everyone was waiting for in these Europa League play-offs. After 45 minutes far too calm for a shock of this level, the match came alive during a superb second period, thanks to two men: Marcus Rashford and Raphinha. While Manchester United were down 1-0 after Marcos Alonso’s goal from a corner kick by Raphinha (50′), Rashford revived the Red Devils with an inspired shot from a tight angle (53′).
Unstoppable since the start of 2023, the Englishman then humiliated Raphinha on a hook, before provoking the goal against his side of the Frenchman Jules Koundé (59th). The Brazilian from Barça finally responded with a lucky goal, his cross to Robert Lewandowski surprising David de Gea (76th). Involved in the four goals of the match, Rashford and Raphinha will play the second round of this play-off at Old Trafford next Thursday.
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