UEL, Manchester United reach final despite second-leg defeat: Records broken
Manchester United reached the final of the UEFA Europa League, despite suffering a 3-2 defeat against AS Roma in the second leg of their semi-final clash. After taking a 6-2 lead at home, United went ahead in this tie before Roma turned things around in the second half. The Italian side dominated the match and had the better chances. Here are the records broken.
How did the match pan out?
Roma went behind after Edinson Cavani gave United the lead in a frantic first half. Roma showed urgency after half-time and scored two goals in the space of three minutes. However, Cavani equalized minutes later, with Roma threatening to score more. Nicola Zalewski gave Roma the winning goal but it wasn't enough. For United, goal-keeper David de Gea was excellent, making several stupendous saves.
De Gea and Dzeko script these records
Roma had 22 shots, out of which 13 were on target. As per Squawka Football, De Gea became just the second goal-keeper this season to make 10+ saves in a Europa League game this season. Edin Dzeko has now scored nine goals in 11 games versus Man United. This is the joint-most he's managed against any side in his career.
Edinson Cavani smashes these records
Cavani has scored 16 goals in his last 15 UEFA Europa League appearances, including 15 in his last 10 starts in the competition. The Uruguayan forward is the first player to score two-plus goals in both legs of a two-legged semi-final in major European competition since Klaus Allofs for 1. FC Koln versus KSV Waregem in the 1985-86 UEFA Cup.
Man United vs Roma is the highest-scoring UEL semi-final ever
The semi-final tie between United and Roma produced a total of 13 goals over the two legs. This is now the biggest tally in a UEFA Cup/Europa League semi-final, and joint-second highest across two legs of any major UEFA competition semi-final, behind Eintracht Frankfurt 12-4 Rangers in the 1959-60 European Cup.
More records for Manchester United
As per Opta, Man United are only the second side in UEFA Cup/Europa League history to score eight-plus goals across both legs of a semi-final tie, after Alaves scored nine against Kaiserslautern in 2000-01. The Red Devils have progressed to their eighth major European final, with Liverpool the only English team with more (14).
Cavani shines for United against Roma
Cavani had six-goal involvements in the semi-final clash against Roma (G4 A2). As per William Hill, Cavani has become only the third player to score four-plus goals across a single Europa League semi-final tie after Radamel Falcao (2011) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2019).
