Manchester United coach Ole Gunner Solskjaer praised the performance of his second-string side in reaching the Europa League quarterfinals with a 2-1 win over LASK on Wednesday.
United had a 5-0 lead from their first leg played in March and will face Copenhagen who enjoyed a 3-0 victory on the night over Istanbul Basaksehir in their last-16 tie.
Usual starters such as Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were named on the bench while the likes of Jesse Lingard and Fred started at an almost empty Old Trafford.
“It was a good exercise, job done, minutes under the belt and ready to travel,” Solskjaer told broadcaster BT Sport.
Despite United’s comfortable lead from March 12’s first leg, the visitors caused problems early on.
Andres Andrade hit the crossbar with a powerful header after 10 minutes before Peter Michorl fired wide just after the quarter of an hour mark.
The Linz-based outfit had to wait until the second half to break the deadlock as defender Philipp Wiesinger rifled into the top corner from outside the box after 5 5 minutes.
Their celebrations were short-lived as Lingard equalized on the counterattack for United three minutes later.
Martial claimed the match-winner with two minutes to go despite LASK goalkeeper Alexander Schlager getting a foot to the France striker’s shot.
Lukaku scores again
Elsewhere, Antonio Conte’s Inter Milan will face either Steven Gerrard’s Rangers or Bayer Leverkusen with the Germans holding a 3-1 lead going into Thursday’s match after his side beat Getafe 2-0.
Romelu Lukaku and Christian Eriksen scored either side of the break for the Italians.
Inter’s meeting with the La Liga side was played over just one leg in Gelsenkirchen to save time ahead of next week’s last eight to be held in Germany.
Lukaku became the club’s first player to score in five straight European appearances since Brazilian striker Adriano in 2004.
Lukaku slotted home after Alessandro Bastoni’s long ball after 33 minutes.
The Spaniards were given a chance to take the game to penalties with 25 minutes remaining as VAR said Diego Godin had handballed in his own box but veteran center forward Jorge Molina missed the resulting penalty.
Eriksen made sure of Inter’s last-eight spot after 84 minutes with his first touch after Dakonam Djene made a mess of a clearance inside his own area.
Sanchez joins Inter
Inter have agreed to sign Alexis Sanchez from Manchester United on a permanent three-year deal, the Serie A club’s CEO Giuseppe Marotta said Wednesday.
Sanchez joined Inter on loan at the start of the 2019-20 season following a disappointing spell at United where he scored just five goals in 45 matches.
Although the Chilean scored only four league goals this season, he seems to have rediscovered his touch in Italy where he topped the club’s charts with eight assists as Antonio Conte’s Inter finished runners-up behind Juventus.
Speaking after United’s Europa League win over LASK, Solskjaer confirmed that Sanchez was leaving the Old Trafford club for Italy.
“I can confirm that [Sanchez is going]. Alexis has had a good time over there and he’s a good player, so we wish him all the best,” he told BT Sport.
Jesse Lingard of Manchester United celebrates scoring their first goal against LASK at Old Trafford on Wednesday in Manchester, England. Photo: VCG
