Bruno Fernandes and Edinson Cavani each scored twice as Manchester United thrashed an injury-hit Roma 6-2 at Old Trafford to close in on the Europa League final.
United are aiming to get to a final under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the fifth time of asking after four semi-final defeats in the past two seasons. But only a second leg collapse will prevent them from facing Villarreal or Arsenal in Gdansk on May 26 after a stunning second-half performance.
The home side trailed at the break as Lorenzo Pellegrini’s penalty and Edin Dzeko’s tap-in cancelled out Fernandes’s early opener. But the Italians lost three players to injury before the break and United took full advantage.
Two predatory finishes from Cavani turned the tie around before Fernandes also fired home from the spot. Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood rounded off the scoring as United became the first team to score six goals in a European semi-final since Real Madrid in 1964.
“Very pleased with the response,” said Solskjaer. “Second half we were very good.”
In the other semifinal, Unai Emery won his big reunion with Arsenal but 2-1 might prove a small reward for Villarreal, who failed to take advantage of Dani Ceballos being sent off in a frantic first leg.
Manu Trigueros and Raul Albiol gave Villarreal a dream start at La Ceramica and the tie looked to be slipping away from Arsenal when Ceballos was shown a second yellow card early in the second half.
But 10-man Arsenal rallied and grabbed an away goal when Nicolas Pepe converted a penalty in the 73rd minute, before Villarreal’s Etienne Capoue also saw red with 10 minutes left to play.