By Robert Wheeler
- Arsenal was defeated by PSV Eindhoven
- Manchester United beat Sheriff Tiraspol
- West Ham and Hearts both win
Europe – In the Europa League, there were mixed fortunes as Arsenal lost but Manchester United won. Whilst West Ham and Hearts were both victorious in the Europa Conference League.
Europa League
Gunners shot down by PSV
Ruud van Nistelrooy was involved in many classic matches for Manchester United against Arsenal. Now, the head coach of PSV Eindhoven, van Nistelrooy came back to haunt the Gunners.
Mikel Arteta‘s side needed just a point to qualify for the last sixteen but fell to a 2-0 defeat. PSV had two disallowed goals in the first half before Joey Veerman fired into the top corner to give his side the lead in the 55th minute.
Their victory was sealed eight minutes later when Luuk de Jong headed in from a Cody Gakpo corner. Gakpo has been linked with a move to the Premier League and with his performance tonight you can see why. He had the ball in the back of the net himself but the flag went up for offside.
The result means Arteta’s side needs to win their final game at home to Zurich next week to make sure they top Group A.
Manchester United show Sheriff whose boss
Manchester United defeated Sheriff 3-0 thanks to goals from Diogo Dalot, Marcus Rashford and returning Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward is back in the fold after he was dropped for refusing to come on as a sub against Tottenham Hotspur.
Dalot gave the Red Devils the lead just before halftime when he headed in from a Christian Eriksen corner. The second half saw Rashford finish off from a Luke Shaw cross after some fantastic passing play.
Ronaldo sealed the victory in the 81st minute when his initial header was saved by Maksym Koval but the forward made no mistake on the follow-up.
Eric ten Hag‘s side must beat Real Sociedad by two goals next week if they are to top their group and progress directly to the last 16.
Europa Conference League
West Ham win their group
West Ham United made it five wins from five which ensured that they top their group and progressed to the last 16 of the competition.
Manuel Lanzini‘s penalty was enough to see off Silkeborg 1-0 after Michail Antonio was brought down in the box. A massive positive for the Hammers was Nayef Aguerd making his first competitive start following his injury and for the defender to help keep a clean sheet.
David Moyes‘ side has one game remaining against FCSB, where he will likely rest his key players and give the opportunity to give some of the club’s youngsters some experience.
Hearts out despite victory
Although Heart of Midlothian defeated Rigas FC 2-1 and ensured they finish third in their group it will not be enough to give them any chance of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Hearts took the lead in just the third minute when Lawrence Shankland slid in to finish off Josh Ginnelly‘s cross. Then just nine minutes later they doubled their lead as Andy Halliday‘s cross was deflected in.
RFS got one back just before halftime, Kevin Friesenbichler with a fantastic strike from outside the box. Friesenbichler came close to an equaliser in the second half but his shot from range came back off the crossbar.
The Latvian side was reduced to ten men when Vitalijs Jagodinskis was shown a red card in added time. Robbie Neilson’s side held on to the win sparking great celebrations at Tynecastle.
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