Martin Odegaard, Gabriel and Elneny Score To Earn Arsenal 3-1Victory At Olympiacos By Madellene Kalunda
Martin Odegaard scored his first goal for Arsenal and Gabriel and Mohamed Elneny also scored two late goals to give the English side a 3-1 win at Olympiakos in the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie on Thursday night.
Mikel Arteta saw his side kicked out by Olympiacos at the round-of-32 stage last season despite winning the opening leg in Greece.
Arsenal were back at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium for the second time in a fortnight, having hosted the ‘home’ leg of their tie against Benfica on the outskirts of Athens due to current coronavirus travel restrictions.
Odegaard joined Arsenal on loan from Real Madrid in January. He fired the visitors ahead with a 34th-minute strike before Youssef El Arabi equalised for the Greek team in the 58th minute.
Arsenal looked rattled after conceding a soft goal but Brazilian defender Gabriel restored their lead with a header and substitute Elneny sealed the win with a long-range shot.
Olympiacos were almost level as Arsenal were again caught trying to play out from the back, David Luiz’s pass being closed down by Giorgos Masouras, who then shot wildly wide of goal.
The second half was action-packed as the Greeks pulled one back, before two late goals ensired the Gunners have one foot in the last eight.
Arsenal first gifted their opponents the equaliser after another failed attempt to build from the back. The hosts missed two chances to take the lead.
The win gives Arsenal a lead going into the second leg set for next week.
Harry Kane Double Gives Spurs Crucial 2-0 Lead Over Dinamo Zagreb
Tottenham Hotspur closed in on a place in the Europa League quarter-finals as Harry Kane scored both goals in a 2-0 comfortable home win against Dinamo Zagreb.
The England captain was in the right place to convert a rebound in the 25th minute and he gave his side some insurance to take to Croatia next week with a second after the break.
He was replaced later on as a precautionary measure following a challenge from Arijan Ademi.
A hard-working Dinamo, who had won their last six matches in the competition, could have made a dream start when Mislav Orsic ran through on goal in the opening minute but shot tamely.
It was an efficient display from Jose Mourinho’s side as they claimed a fifth successive win in all competitions.
The result puts Spurs in a strong position ahead of the last 16 second leg on March 18th as they now shift their focus towards Arsenal in the North London derby.
Manchester United 1-1 AC Milan At Old Trafford
An injury-time header from defender Simon Kjaer earned AC Milan a 1-1 draw at Manchester United in their Europa League last-16 first-leg match at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Milan dominated the first half as Franck Kessie’s volley was ruled out by VAR for a handball, while Harry Maguire somehow missed a sitter just before the break as it hit a post.
Teenager Amad Diallo’s 50th-minute goal had put United ahead before Kjaer angled in a fine header from Rade Krunic’s corner in the final moments.
The draw was justice for Stefano Pioli’s Milan who had two goals ruled out in the opening 45 minutes as they opened up United with surprising ease.
The 18-year-old Diallo, who joined United from Serie A club Atalanta in January, came on as a halftime substitute and claimed his first goal for the English side five minutes later.
Martial went close in the opening stages but it was one of the Frenchman’s more ineffective displays and it only took five minutes for his replacement to upstage him.
Dan James missed another sitter after United had gone in front, turning Mason Greenwood’s cross wide when unmarked and five metres out.
The Red Devils were missing Marcus Rashford and Edinson Cavani too and in their absence nobody was threatening.
