OLE’S ED BOY
Classy Cavani seals semi with Roma
EDINSON CAVANI is determined to go out on a high if he decides to leave Manchester United.
The big striker reminded United what they might be missing next season with a stunning volley to help his side beat Granada and book a Europa League semi-final place against Roma.
It was Cavani’s 50th European goal – but his first for United in the Europa League – as he sets his sights on leading his side to their first trophy under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Lifting the Europa League would be a fitting way to finish his time in Manchester, should the Uruguayan leave this summer.
His first-half strike was the only moment of genuine quality – with a stoppage-time own goal by Jesus Vallejo extending the scoreline – on a night when Solskjaer made five changes from the side that won 3-1 at Tottenham.
He was without suspended trio Harry
MAN UTD WIN 4-0 ON AGG
Maguire, Luke Shaw and Scott Mctominay so handed rare starts to Axel Tuanzebe and Alex Telles.
He also recalled Nemanja Matic in midfield along with David De Gea, with Marcus Rashford on the bench.
The visitors also made five changes from the side that won at Real Valladolid last weekend.
Former Tottenham striker Roberto Soldado returned to lead the attack, while Manchester City loanee Yangel Herrera was recalled in midfield. United held a commanding 2-0 lead from the first leg and knew it would take a collapse of epic proportions to see them miss out on a place in the last four.
They should have gone ahead inside four minutes but Cavani failed to pick out a wide-open Mason Greenwood with a simple pass.
But Cavani made amends moments later when he latched on to Paul Pogba’s looping header to smash a ruthless volley into the bottom corner Granada refused to crumble, though, and continued to attack, with the impressive Herrera heading just wide. Pogba was booked for elbowing German Sanchez in the face and was then lucky not to be sent off moments later after felling Herrera from behind.
With a semi-final place assured Solskjaer hooked Pogba at the break to save him from getting a red card and on came Donny van de Beek.
Bruno Fernandes, Greenwood and Van de Beek all threatened to extend the lead even further but somehow the Spanish minnows succeeded in limiting the damage despite never coming close to ruining United’s European dream.
MAN UNITED (4-2-3-1): De Gea 7; Wan-bissaka 7 (Williams 82), Tuanzebe 7, Lindelof 7, Telles 7; Fred 7, Matic 6; Greenwood 6 (Diallo 82), Fernandes 6 (Mata 73), Pogba 7 (Van de Beek 46, 7); CAVANI 8 (James 60, 7).
GRANADA (4-2-3-1): Silva 6; Foulquier 6, Vallejo 7, German 7 (Perez 82), Neva 6 (Diaz 75); Montoro 6, Gonalons 7 (Molina 31); Kenedy (Puertas 46, 6) 7, Herrera 8, Machis 7; Soldado 6 (Suarez 46, 6).
REFEREE: Istvan Kovacs (Romania) 6.
Odegaard injury.
And Arteta stuck with the back four that kept a clean sheet for him in Sunday’s win at Sheffield United, meaning another run-out for Granit Xhaka at left back.
Saka, so often the hero lately, thought he had the breakthrough with only 15 minutes on the clock when he cut in from the right.
Ondrej Kolar could only tip his left-foot shot on to the far post, where it deflected back out to give Emile Smith Rowe a tap-in.
The goal was ruled out for offside after a long VAR check – but it didn’t take long for Arsenal to score a genuine one.
Smith Rowe was at the heart of it, nutmegging two defenders to set up was nursing an ankle
Pepe, who jinked forward under pressure before smashing home.
And suddenly Slavia were a mess, with Jakub Hromada conceding a clumsy penalty for a foul on Saka.
Lacazette stepped up to send the keeper the wrong way, and Arsenal had one foot in the semi-final.
It got even better when Chambers fed Saka down the right and he blazed into the box and dragged another left-foot shot into the near post.
After that Arsenal dug in and put their bodies on the line to defend their lead, blocking shots and making life as hard as possible for Slavia.
The home side made a triple substitution at half-time in a desperate bid to turn it around. But Arsenal remained well on top.
Xhaka then sparked a melee with a crunching tackle on Jan Kuchta, with Arteta hopping mad that Dani Ceballos was clipped by Peter Olayinka in the aftermath.
But referee Cuneyt Cakir quickly settled things down.
And Arteta even had the luxury of giving the outstanding Smith Rowe an early bath as his side cruised through the final stages as Lacazette added the gloss late on with a fine finish.
SLAVIA PRAGUE (4-5-1): Kolar 5; Bah 5 (Visinsky 45, 5) Holes 6, Zima 5, Boril 5 (Dorley 45, 6); Sevcik 6, Stanciu 5 (Lingr 45, 6), Hromada 6 (Masopust 45, 5), Provod 5, Olayinka 5; Kuchta 6 (Techl 71, 5).
ARSENAL (4-2-3-1): Leno 6; Chambers 7, Holding 7, Gabriel 6, Xhaka 7; Ceballos 6, Partey 6 (Soares 79); Pepe 7 (Balogun 88), Smith Rowe 8 (Elneny 67, 6), SAKA 9 (Martinelli 79); Lacazette 7 (Nketiah 79).
REFEREE: Cuneyt Cakir (Turkey) 7.