Barcelona and Manchester United produce epic 2-2 thriller in Europa League first leg

Barcelona and Manchester United served up a thrilling 2-2 draw in Europa League kckout playoffs Thursday that outranked anything in Champions League this week.

former European champions tred les in a back-and-forth second half of ir first-leg game at Camp u.

Barcelona struck first in 50th minute on defender Marcos Alonso’s heer from a corner and leveled in 76th when Raphinha’s cross from right wing curled into net untouched. United's defense was distracted by Robert Lewandowski’s failed attempt to connect.

In between, Marcus Rashford showed just why Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez called him one of most dangerous forwards in Europe.

Rashford beat goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen at his near post with a shot from a tight angle in 52nd n created United’s go-ahe goal seven minutes later.

Receiving ball at touchline from a corner taken short, Rashford dribbled into penalty area n fired a low cross that was flicked on by Bru Fernandes and bounced up to ricochet into net off defender Jules Koundé for an own goal.

United goalkeeper David de Gea preserved le with late saves, after ter Stegen’s best saves were in first half to keep out Rashford and Wout Weghorst.

It sets up an enticing second leg at Old Trafford next Thursday with a place in round of 16 at stake.

Barcelona has never won second-tier European competition — never even reached final in 52 years as UEFA Cup n Europa League — and its 13th attempt looks to be easier.

EUROPA LEAGUE

Shakhtar Donetsk’s first competitive game of 2023 during midwinter break for 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 left flank, Dmytro Kryskiv, open scoring in 11th minute. Artem Bondarenko’s penalty in first-half stopp time doubled le.

Rennes cut le with a volleyed shot in 59th by Karl Toko Ekambi, Cameroon international who joined on loan last month from Lyon.

Salzburg will take a 1-0 le to Roma next week thanks to Nicolas Capaldo’s heer in 88th. Coach Jose Mourinho’s team almost leveled when Andrea Belotti’s heer was pushed on to crossbar by goalkeeper Philipp Köhn.

Ajax drew 0-0 at home to Union Berlin, surprise Bundesliga title challenger.

In later games, it was: Juventus vs. Nantes; Sporting Lisbon vs. Midtjylland; Bayer Leverkusen vs. Monaco; Sevilla vs. PSV Eindhoven.

EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

Fiorentina’s 4-0 rout of home team Braga was standout performance in four early games in Europa Conference League kckout playoffs.

Forwards Luka Jović and substitute Arthur Cabral each scored twice, and Braga h defender Vitor Tormena sent off for a late tackle on Jović.

Trabzonspor won 1-0 at home to Basel, Qarabağ also won 1-0 at home to Gent and it was 0-0 in rway between Bodø/Glimt and Lech Poznan.

In later games, it was: Lazio vs. Cluj; AEK Larnaca vs. Dnipro-1; Sheriff vs. Partizan; Ludogorets vs. Anderlecht.