Cologne (Germany) (AFP)
Manchester United needed extra time to overcome (1-0) an eye-catching but offensively limited FC Copenhagen on Monday in the quarter-final of the Europa League in Cologne.
A penalty from Bruno Fernandes gave the Red Devils the right to face Wolverhampton or Sevilla in the semifinals on Sunday in Duisburg.
FC Copenhagen, who had unceremoniously taken out Turkish champion Istanbul Basksehir (0-1, 3-0) in the previous round, represented an opponent much more relieved than Linz, swept (5-0, 2-1) by the Red Devils .
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had also brought back his offensive weapons: Bruno Fernandes, Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford.
But although largely dominating the debates in the heat of Cologne - 14 shots on target to 0 in the end - Manchester quickly understood why this team had conceded only 11 goals in 16 European matches this season so far.
Sometimes laborious, even rough, in his offensive animation, Manchester was deprived by the VAR of a penalty in the 21st for an offside from Harry Maguire and a goal in extra time in the first act, Mason Greenwood having anticipated Rashford's header deflection a little too much, otherwise he missed everything he tried.
The posts got involved, the left to repel a strike from Greenwood (57th) and the right to upset Bruno Fernandes (62nd).
But what about the performance of former Guingamp goalkeeper Kalle Johnsson who made 13 saves, the highest total for a goalkeeper in a C3 match since 2009.
He notably shone on two shots from Martial, one from 22 meters, pushed back with the opposite hand while the ball was heading towards the skylight (84th), the other with his foot on a close attempt at ground level (93rd) .
But a few seconds later, the same Martial was pushed in the back by Andreas Bjelland and Clément Turpin designated the penalty spot, the 21st for the Red Devils, a record this season in the European top 5.
Bruno Fernandes took the opportunity to register his 7th penalty since his arrival in Manchester on 7 attempts and finally give the advantage to his team (1-0, 95th).
Overall, a well-deserved success, but MancU could pay for those extra 30 minutes on Sunday which he would have gone well at the end of a long and trying season.
© 2020 AFP