Man Utd draw in Spain in Europa League last 16 as Spurs beaten

Paris, Mar. 8: Manchester United drew 1-1 away to Real Sociedad in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday, while Tottenham suffered a 1-0 loss at Dutch side AZ Alkmaar.

Joshua Zirkzee drilled in from just outside the area to give United the lead on 57 minutes in San Sebastian but Mikel Oyarzabal levelled from the spot after Bruno Fernandes was punished for a handball.

Zirkzee cut a distraught figure after missing the decisive penalty in last week's FA Cup shootout loss to Fulham and has endured a testing first season at United, whose only remaining hope of silverware is in the Europa League.

He scored for the first time in Europe this term, unleashing a sharp low drive from 20 yards after being teed up by Alejandro Garnacho's inviting pass.

But Ruben Amorim's side could not hold on to their advantage as Fernandes handled at a corner, with Oyarzabal confidently converting his spot-kick.

Andre Onana made two excellent saves to keep United level as Real Sociedad pressed for a winner, leaving the tie evenly poised ahead of next week's second leg.

"I felt until the penalty we had control of the game and then I think the penalty changed a little bit the momentum," Amorim told TNT Sports.

"I felt our team in the last 30 minutes were really, really tired," he added.

"We take this stage to Old Trafford... it's going to be a different game, the pressure is going to be on us in that stadium and we have to be ready."

Lucas Bergvall's first-half own goal condemned Spurs to defeat in the Netherlands, and it could have been worse for Ange Postecoglou's side were it not for three fine stops from Guglielmo Vicario.

"We were nowhere near the level we needed to be and that's the thing we need to address," said Postecoglou, as Spurs registered just a single shot on target.

To compound Tottenham's misery, striker Dominic Solanke hobbled off after 20 minutes as he made his return from seven weeks out with a knee injury.

Rangers recorded an impressive 3-1 win away to Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce.

Lyon also took a big stride towards the quarter-finals with a 3-1 victory at Romanians FCSB.

Uzbek forward Eldor Shomurodov struck with the final kick of the game to snatch a 2-1 victory for Roma over Athletic Bilbao in their first leg in Italy.

Lazio grabbed an even later winner at Viktoria Plzen despite finishing with nine players, as Gustav Isaksen scored in the 98th minute for a 2-1 victory.

Eintracht Frankfurt came from behind to win 2-1 at Ajax, with Hugo Larsson and Ellyes Skhiri on target after a 10th-minute goal by Brian Brobbey. Bodo/Glimt won 3-0 at home to Olympiakos with a brace from Kasper Hogh.

Chelsea edge Copenhagen

Chelsea took one step into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Conference League with a 2-1 win at Copenhagen on Thursday in the first leg of their last 16 tie, while Panathinaikos and Fiorentina played out a five-goal thriller.

Reece James and Enzo Fernandez netted in the second half, before Gabriel Pereira halved the deficit for the hosts, as Enzo Maresca's side just did enough to take control of the tie in the Danish capital.

Following an uninspiring opening period, Chelsea skipper James broke the deadlock one minute after half-time when he strode onto Marc Cucurella's deep cut-back and rolled an effort from distance inside the near post.

The goal brought the game to life and Copenhagen nearly struck back instantly, only for Viktor Claesson to see his one-on-one effort come back off the inside of Robert Sanchez's post and into the goalkeeper's grateful arms.

Half-time substitute Fernandez made the game safe for the visitors with an emphatic 65th-minute finish following good work by teenager Tyrique George.

The Premier League side were cruising until 11 minutes from time when Pereira was left unmarked in the box to nod in from a set-piece.

"When you go to Stamford Bridge (Chelsea's stadium) and need to win a game by two goals, you need a little miracle," said Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup.

"The belief is there. It's not the best possible result, but it is what it is."

Elsewhere, last season's defeated finalists Fiorentina went down 3-2 to Greece's Panathinaikos.

Molde held on to win by the same scoreline against Legia Warsaw in Norway.

La Liga club Real Betis drew 2-2 at home to Iberian neighbours Vitoria Guimaraes of Portugal.

Rapid Vienna were held 1-1 in Bosnia and Herzegovina by Borac Banja Luka after David Vukovic scored a 92nd-minute penalty to level for the hosts.

Three second-half goals for Jagiellonia Bialystok gave the Poles a 3-0 home win over 10-man Cercle Brugge.

Swiss side Lugano went down 1-0 in Slovenia against Celje, and Pafos of Cyprus won by the same margin at home to Sweden's Djurgarden.

The second legs will take place on March 13.(AFP)