Manchester United showed character Thursday night in their Europa League semi-final first leg tie as they overcame an initial scare before beating Roma 6-2 at Old Trafford.
Despite taking the lead in the ninth minute through Bruno Fernandes, United trailed 1-2 at the end of the first half through a penalty from Lorenzo Pellegrini and a tap-in from Edin Dzeko on 34 minutes.
However, a masterclass in the second 45 minutes saw Fernandes, Edison Cavani (2), Paul Pogba, and Mason Greenwood give the Red Devils a high level of breathing space going into the second leg in Italy.
In the other semi-final tie, it is still delicately poised for Samuel Chukwueze and his Villarreal teammates as they could only get a 2-1 win over Arsenal
Chukwueze featured for all ninety minutes but he was not part of the scorers. He assisted for the first goal.
Villarreal took the lead inside the fifth minute, with Trigueros firing home, and just before the half-hour mark, Raul Albiol doubled the advantage for Unai Emery’s side.
Arsenal’s task of getting back in the game became tougher when Daniel Ceballos was shown a second yellow card in the 57th for a stamp on Daniel Parejo.
VAR proved its farcical nature when referee Artur Soares Dias from Portugal and the VAR team at the Ceramica handed the Gunners a bonus lifeline with a penalty on 72 minutes.
Video replays clearly showed Busayo Saka initiated the contact with Manu Trigueros. This was an occasion for VAR to prove why it was brought into the game but the penalty got a go-ahead and Nicolas Pepe got a vital away goal.
Next week at the Emirates will see another physical contest with seven yellow cards shown at the Estadio de la Ceramica.
