The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Memphis Depay, right, is congratulated after netting Manchester United’s fifth goal in a 5-1 victory over FC Midtjylland in last night’s Europa League round-of-32 second leg tie at Old Trafford.
EUROPA LEAGUE: Manchester United, Spurs and Liverpool all come through tricky ties
England will have three teams in the last 16 of the Europa League after last night’s round-of-32 second leg ties.
Manchester United overturned a firstleg deficit to beat FC Midtjylland, Tottenham swept past Fiorentina and Liverpool edged out Augsburg.
Marcus Rashford was the unlikely hero in United’s do-or-die clash with the Danes, marking an unexpected debut with a dream brace in a 5-1 victory that sealed a 6-3 aggregate win.
A terrible string of injuries has seen United forced to rely on youth products, although the 18-year-old striker was so far down the pecking order his name did not even appear on the back of the matchday programme.
Rashford was thrust into the spotlight following Anthony Martial’s warm-up injury.
The evening had looked to be going horribly wrong when Pione Sisto carved open United’s makeshift defence to put the visitors ahead at Old Trafford.
Nikolay Bodurov, on loan from Fulham, turned a Memphis Depay cross into his own goal shortly afterwards, but nerves grew as Morgan Schneiderlin hit the woodwork and then Juan Mata saw a penalty saved.
Rashford came to the rescue, turning home crosses from Mata and Guillermo Varela to put United in the driving seat.
Ander Herrera’s penalty and a Depay strike either side of Andre Romer’s red card added extra gloss to the scoreline.
Tottenham proved themselves capable of coping without Harry Kane as they sailed into the last 16 with a 3-0 win over Fiorentina.
Ryan Mason gave Spurs the lead in the first half and Erik Lamela made it two before a Gonzalo Rodriguez own goal completed a 4-1 victory on aggregate.
The only blemish on another excellent night for Mauricio Pochettino’s men saw Dele Alli pick up his third yellow card of the competition, which means he is banned for the first leg of the next round.
Kane was left out of a Spurs matchday squad for the first time this season as he recovers from a broken nose but Pochettino showed the seriousness with which he continues to treat this most exhausting of competitions by fielding all of his other key players including Hugo Lloris, Eric Dier and Alli.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was frustrated at the number of missed chances but satisfied with the 1-0 win over Augsburg at Anfield which saw his side progress to the last 16.
James Milner’s fifth-minute penalty proved decisive as, even though they dominated, the hosts could not put the game to bed after a string of good saves from goalkeeper Marwin Hitz and as a result endured a nervous final 15 minutes.
Klopp will also be relieved the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho emerged unscathed, with the Capital One Cup final against Manchester City looming on Sunday.