..::Football IV::..

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Matic: Man Utd ready for aggressive Sevilla


Manchester United are expecting Sevilla to play an "aggressive" style in their Champions League knockout tie but are confident they can overcome them, Nemanja Matic says.United visit the Spanish side on Wednesday for the first leg of their last-16 tie looking to book a quarter-final spot for the first time in four years.

Jose Mourinho's side have suffered defeat in two of their nine matches in 2018 - dropping points at Tottenham and Newcastle United in the Premier League - heading into the clash at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, while Sevilla are on a three-game winning streak.

And Matic is aware that Vincenzo Montella's side can cause his side trouble over the two legs, and is looking forward to an exciting first game.“They are a very good team and especially at home, where they have great supporters who cheer them on for 90 minutes,” the midfielder told United's official website.

“We expect they are going to be aggressive from the start. But we know what our jobs are, we know what our qualities are and we are going to be ready.

“We are very happy to be playing in the Champions League again. Sevilla are a great team and this is a great opportunity for us to compare with them, and everyone is very happy that we have a chance to play against them. We respect them a lot, we know they are a very good team and I'm sure on Wednesday it is going to be a good game for the supporters."

Although the 29-year-old expects a tough match, he feels United must push for a few away goals and look to take a big advantage back to Old Trafford."It is important to get a good result away from home in the first leg and not to concede a goal," he added. "It's going to be hard, but we will do our best to get a good result, which is to win. We know what to expect.”

 

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Conte defends 'incredible' Christensen after costly error against Barcelona


Andreas Christensen cost Chelsea victory against Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, but Antonio Conte hailed the defender's "incredible" performance.

After a flawless defensive display at Stamford Bridge, where the Premier League champions led through Willian's strike, Christensen's loose pass evaded Cesc Fabregas with 15 minutes to play.

Barca captain Andres Iniesta subsequently set up Lionel Messi to beat the otherwise untested Thibaut Courtois to earn the Catalans a crucial away goal to take into the second leg on March 14.

Conte left club captain Gary Cahill on the bench but the Italian said he did not regret selecting Christensen in the heart of a back three, the Denmark international flanked by Antonio Rudiger and Cesar Azpilicueta.

"It was a great performance, an incredible performance," Conte told a post-match news conference. "He is only 21 and it is great he can play with that maturity. He was one of the best players. He played a top game and I am very pleased for his performance.

"I don't remember a great save from Thibaut. They had the one chance in the first half with Paulinho and then the second half with [Luis] Suarez. I think we played a really good game and I must be pleased because my players made a great effort. They followed the plan, the programme we prepared.

"They showed themselves to be a really strong team, a fantastic team, but we showed that if we are ready to work very hard together defensively but at the same time when you continue to have the right feeling with the ball to create the chance to score I think that we can try to do something incredible at Camp Nou."

Conte did not make his first change until 83 minutes had been played, Alvaro Morata replacing Pedro, with Danny Drinkwater then coming on for former Barca midfielder Fabregas.

But Conte, who did not use his third substitution, with Olivier Giroud among the players left on the bench, reiterated that he felt Chelsea – who fielded a front three of Willian, Pedro and Eden Hazard – performed to a high standard."Without the mistake Barca were struggling to create a chance to score," Conte said. "We tried to exploit the situation. Don't forget we hit the post twice and we were unlucky. We gave 120 per cent.

"Our three strikers played very well and a fantastic game. Willian played really well against Hull [City in the FA Cup] and in the last three games we have scored eight times – seven with Willian, Pedro and Hazard. We must be pleased with the game, not the final result."

 

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UEFA Champions League Round of 16 1st Leg Fixtures 2018.02.21

UEFA Champions League Round of 16 1st Leg Fixtures 2018.02.21

Sevilla Vs Manchester United

Shakhtar Vs Roma

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Tough match ekakHoda fight ekak denna wenawa Sevilla beat karanna

Good Luck Manchester United!​

 

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LA Liga Fixture 2018.02.21

LA Liga Fixture 2018.02.21

Leganes Vs Real Madrid​

 

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Sevilla Vs Manchester United

Sevilla Starting Line-up

Sergio Rico
Lenglet
Banega
Correa
Nzonzi
Navas
Sarabia
Escudero
Muriel
Vazquez
Mercado

&

Manchester United Starting Line-up

De Gea
Valencia
Lindelof
Smalling
Young
Matic
Herrera
McTominay
Mata
Lukaku
Sanchez
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Good Luck Manchester United!
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Half Time

Sevilla 0 Vs 0 Manchester United

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WowDe Gea!

1st Half pattama saves 2kak kalaSpecially 45+1 minute save eka

btw Manchester United backline ekanam cha.Open wenawa wadi1st half goal down wenne nathuwa beraganna puluwan wechcha ekama loku deyak.

Good Luck for the 2nd half Manchester United!


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Full Time

Sevilla 0 Vs 0 Manchester United

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Congratulations Manchester United!

De GeaPattama saves set ekak kala

1st Half nam backline eka expose una wadi but 2nd half hodai perform karapu widiya

Allround gatthama 1st Leg eka control karapu widiya godak hodai

Good luck for the 2nd leg Manchester United!Hodata perform karala match eka win karanna thiyenne

& next Chelsea home match ekaGood Luck Manchester United!
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Sevilla 0 Manchester United 0: De Gea ensures Mourinho's men stay level

Manchester United survived plenty of pressure to claim a 0-0 draw at Sevilla in the first leg of their Champions league last-16 clash, owing particular thanks to an immense David de Gea save at the end of the first half.

Sevilla controlled proceedings for much of the game and, although they generally struggled to craft clear-cut chances, Luis Muriel saw their best denied in stunning fashion by De Gea as United battled to return home with honours even.

The pre-match debate surrounding Jose Mourinho's decision to drop Paul Pogba took on a new dimension after just 17 minutes when the Frenchman replaced the injured Ander Herrera, though he was unable to flourish as Sevilla dominated.




United had to rely on the heroics of De Gea to keep them on level terms at the break, with the Spain international denying both Gabriel Mercado and Muriel late on – the Colombian drawing a remarkable save from the former Atletico Madrid star.

The second half was similarly frustrating for the home side and United began to see more of the ball after the hour as the contest opened up.But ultimately neither team could find a way through, with Pablo Sarabia wasting a good chance for Sevilla late on, giving Vincenzo Montella's men work to do in the return leg at Old Trafford on March 13.


Full of attacking intent and purposeful going forward, Sevilla established early control and played some eye-catching football.

Goalscoring opportunities were not exactly a regular occurrence, but Muriel forced De Gea into a fine stop from distance in the fourth minute and Jesus Navas shot just wide of the bottom-left corner from a similar distance a few moments later.Pogba was then handed his chance of a reprieve, replacing the stricken Herrera, and United appeared to become more stable in midfield as a result.

Their first chance came soon after, but Romelu Lukaku blasted his volley well over from just inside the area following Alexis Sanchez's excellent lofted pass.The visitors were fortunate to still be on level terms at half-time, though.De Gea rescued United twice right at the end of the half, tipping Mercado's header over before then producing an excellent save to deny Muriel's nodded effort.

Sevilla remained dominant at the start of the second half, but their inability to craft clear-cut chances blighted their play, seeming to run out of ideas once in the final third. Muriel summed up Sevilla's frustrations just before the hour mark, dragging a left-footed effort wide of the right-hand post.

De Gea was eventually called into action again in the 64th minute, but he had little difficulty getting down to keep Clement Lenglet's header.The United goalkeeper was helpless 15 minutes from time, but Sarabia headed over from close range following Muriel's right-wing cross.

That proved to be the final chance and it will be United who look ahead to the second leg with the greater satisfaction, having emerged from a tough contest with no damage done.

 

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Shakhtar Donetsk 2 Roma 1: Fred stunner seals first-leg comeback

Shakhtar Donetsk fought back to beat Roma 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.

The Ukrainian side won all three of their group games in Kharkiv and maintained that fine record to win just a third Champions League knockout game in their history - remarkably all have come against the Giallorossi.

Eusebio Di Francesco's side were surprise winners of a group including Chelsea and Atletico Madrid and they impressed in the first half, with Shakhtar perhaps slow to start in just their second game back from a long mid-season break.




Having polished the likes of Mohamed Salah and Miralem Pjanic in recent years, Roma look to have unearthed another gem in Cengiz Under and the 20-year-old Turk put the Giallorossi ahead with his fifth goal in four games shortly before the break.Shakhtar's first-half attacking efforts had amounted to little, but Facundo Ferreyra dragged them level soon after the break with a fine individual goal and Fred turned the game around with a picture-perfect free-kick.

Roma were similarly impressive at the Stadio Olimpico earlier in the competition, keeping clean sheets in each of their group games, and they will hope that helps them turn the tie around on March 13.


Fred scuffed a back-post chance for Shakhtar and Edin Dzeko saw a bundled effort saved as both teams began at breakneck tempo, though Roma soon began to exert a greater threat on the break.

Kostas Manolas ought to have done better than heading wide when unmarked from a corner and Dzeko too faltered when played in by Diego Perotti, failing to aim a weak sidefoot finish out of Andriy Pyatov's reach.

Shakhtar based the bulk of their attacks out wide and, though they regularly found room behind Alessandro Florenzi and Aleksandar Kolarov, the final ball was often lacking and Fred summed up their frustrated efforts just after the half-hour with a wild 25-yard effort after the Serie A side had clogged up the route to goal.

Roma slowed the pace to exert more control and took a deserved lead five minutes before the break as Dzeko neatly turned into space and played a piercing ball behind Ismaily, which Under raced onto and finished beyond Pyatov to continue his fine run in front of goal.

Shakhtar hit back less than six minutes into the second half, Ferreyra had been previously starved of service, so took it upon himself to latch onto Yaroslav Rakitskiy's hopeful punt, nutmeg Manolas and finish calmly beyond Alisson.



As Shakhtar surged forwards, the Brazilian goalkeeper had to be on his toes to deny Marlos from close-range before he pulled off a spectacular flying stop when Taison sent a wicked shot arrowing for the top-right corner.But there was absolutely nothing Alisson could do to stop Roma falling behind in the 71st minute as Fred sent a 25-yard set-piece fizzing over the wall and into the net via a pleasing kiss off the crossbar.

Shakhtar came within inches of scoring the game's fourth goal in stoppage time, but Bruno Peres somehow deflected Ferreyra's effort over the bar while sat on the line - an intervention that could prove to be crucial.

 

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Leganes 1 Real Madrid 3: Casemiro inspires comeback for Zidane's men

Real Madrid overcame an early blow and were made to toil after half-time for a 3-1 LaLiga win at Leganes.The victory moves Zinedine Zidane's reigning champions up to third in the table above Valencia, although the hosts struck first as defender Unai Bustinza claimed his first senior goal.

Cristiano Ronaldo was given the night off by Zidane and, with Gareth Bale starting on the bench, Casemiro assumed the unlikely role of being Madrid's creative driving force.




The Brazilian midfielder created the 11th-minute equaliser as Spain winger Lucas Vazquez continued his impressive recent form and converted a glorious winner before the half hour.

Madrid shipped three goals in Sunday's win at Real Betis but Zidane was grateful to see Sergio Ramos marshalling a more robust backline as 13th-placed Leganes probed without reward during the second period, and the Madrid captain made sure of victory by coolly dispatching a penalty in the final minute.The European champions are still seven points shy of Atletico Madrid in second and 14 behind leaders Barcelona.


Despite the likes of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Marcelo being out through injury, Zidane still elected to rest Ronaldo and first-choice goalkeeper Keylor Navas.Madrid made a lackadaisical start and Navas' replacement Kiko Casilla was picking the ball out of his net in the sixth minute.

Gabriel Pires flicked on a left-wing corner at the near post and, after seeing his initial attempt saved, Bustinza flung himself towards the ball, taking Theo Hernandez's clearance on the top of his head to net an unusual diving header.

Madrid's response was impressively swift, with Casemiro intercepting a poor clearance and feeding Karim Benzema before improvising a flick from Mateo Kovacic's pass that allowed Lucas to clip a precise finish across Ivan Cuellar.

Casemiro was again at the heart of things when Madrid took a 29th-minute lead – this time providing the finishing touch himself after exchanging passes with Benzema and accepting Lucas' assist to crown a glorious one-touch move.Madrid were comfortably on top as the half wound down, with Benzema almost heading a third from Lucas' cross.

Leganes impressively got themselves back on the front foot during the early stages of the second half – Asier Garitano's double switch, sending on Ruben Perez and Martin Mantovani in place of Dimitrios Siovas and Gerard Gumbau, rewarded with a spirited showing.Tito slotted a pass down the Madrid left to Nabil El Zhar and Claudio Beauvue got on the end of his low cross to force a point-blank stop from Casilla.

El Zhar had a penalty claim following an untidy challenge from Kovacic rejected – the infringement did appear to take place fractionally outside the area – and Madrid continued to do more work in their own half than they would have liked.Bale came on 15 minutes from time, curtailing an industrious and accomplished display from the much-maligned Benzema.

The Wales international almost picked out the bottom corner after springing the offside trap, but it was Ramos who grasped the ball and made no mistake when Diego Rico bundled Kovacic to the floor.

 

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Willian: Jose is my friend but I am at Chelsea


Willian is looking forward to a reunion with his "friend" Jose Mourinho when Chelsea head to Manchester United on Sunday.

Mourinho signed Willian for Chelsea from Anzhi Makhachkala in August 2013 and the Brazilian attacker has repeatedly been linked with a move to Old Trafford to rejoin his old boss.

But, ahead of the weekend’s Premier League clash at United, Willian is only focusing on the game as the two clubs battle for Champions League qualification."He is my friend. I had a great time with him, but I am at Chelsea and he is now at Manchester United," said Willian.

Chelsea head into the game on the back of drawing 1-1 at home to Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, which saw Antonio Conte’s side produce a disciplined tactical performance.

With trips to Premier League leaders Manchester City and the return in Barcelona the next away fixtures after the United game, the attacker is looking for similar displays from Chelsea.

He added: "They are difficult games. It is totally different to play in the Premier League to the Champions League. I think we can stay at this level and we can go to Old Trafford on Sunday and play another great game."We have to play in a similar way. Against Manchester United, I think we can do a great job.

“Against Manchester City, it will be like the game against Barcelona - they like to have the ball. We have to stay compact and use the same plan as we used against Barcelona. We can win these games. We will go there to try to win."

After firing Chelsea in front against Barcelona, having struck the post twice in the first half, Willian pointed to the sky in celebration, and he revealed that he had his family on his mind before his team-mates rushed over.

The 29-year-old took compassionate leave from Chelsea last season after losing his his mother, Dona Zeze, to cancer and he appeared emotional after scoring against Barca.

"To score a goal in a match like that you feel a lot of emotion, it's normal,” he said.“I was thinking about my family, the people that stay with me all of the time and support me. Of course, it was a good moment and I was really happy at this moment, but I have to continue.

"I almost had three against Barcelona and I almost had three against Hull City.”
Lionel Messi equalised after an Andreas Christensen mistake later in the match but Chelsea came away feeling that they put in a near perfect performance against the Spanish league leaders.

For the return leg at Camp Nou, Willian hopes Chelsea can emulate the display they produced against Atletico Madrid in the group stage, when they became the first away team to win at the newly built Wanda Metropolitano stadium in September.He continued: “Of course, it was a great game, we played very well, we had a plan to come into this game. We were unlucky because we made a mistake and then we suffered an away goal but I think the result is still open.

"We can try to go there and win the game. It will be a completely different game, to play there is different. But if we go with the same mentality as we did against Atletico, we can go there with great spirit and win the game."

 

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Bailey: I'll make Man Utd and Arsenal wait until I'm ready


Bayer Leverkusen striker Leon Bailey has indicated that he is prepared to make his long list of suitors wait, as he is not willing to depart before he has developed sufficiently.The 20-year-old attacker moved from Genk to Leverkusen for €13.5 million in January 2017 and is under contract with the Bundesliga outfit until 2022.

His outstanding form this season has seen him net nine times in 20 outings and attract attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs, with Milan, Manchester United and Arsenal among the teams leading the chase to sign him.

And while he does want to reach the highest level eventually, he is in no rush to leave his current home.“Leverkusen is perfect for me,” he told Bild. “I want to develop and then I can take the next step.

“When I move to a big club, the people there will want to know me. I want to make a name for myself at the highest level.” Leverkusen are a club with a reputation of falling at the final hurdle, thereby depriving themselves of success. Over the years, they have earned the moniker ‘Neverkusen’ due to their inability to lift silverware.

Bailey, though, is determined to put this title to bed, having helped the side into fourth in the Bundesliga but more notably into the semi-finals of the DFB Pokal.“If we go to the cup final, we’ll win it, I promise,” he said. “That would be the end of Neverkusen.”

Leverkusen have won the cup only once before, in 1992-93, while their only other major title is the UEFA Cup of 1987-88.

 

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Mourinho happy with 'big effort' from Pogba after dropping Man United star


Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was content with Paul Pogba's contribution in the 0-0 draw at Sevilla after the Frenchman was dropped for Wednesday's Champions League clash.Pogba, whose relationship with the Portuguese has been a hot topic in recent weeks, came off the bench to replace the injured Ander Herrera after just 17 minutes at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

While Mourinho is tired of questions surrounding Pogba, he was pleased with the 24-year-old's display in a hard-fought first-leg draw.

"In my pre-match interview, I had three questions about Paul and he wasn't playing. That's a bit strange," he said after the last-16 clash."And I think, respecting you and your work, I understand your question, but if I was one of you I would ask if the Manchester United manager agreed that [Scott] McTominay had a fantastic performance.

"He looked like a senior player, he looked like a player with great maturity, tactical sense, a sense of responsibility, good in possession, good in pressing. I think he looked a man with dozens and dozens of matches in the Champions League.

"But I also answer your question, I think Paul made a big effort to try to give the team what I asked of the team. I started with Ander and Scott and I think a fantastic player like [Ever] Banega, he wasn't [fantastic], because he didn't have the space to be the Banega that the world of football admires and Paul replaced Ander.

"He tried to bring the same qualities, plus his security with the ball. Of course he lost a couple of possessions, but he also gave us stability because he gave us a good percentage of possession for the way we play and the match away to a good team like Sevilla."We had a good percentage of the ball and some control of the game, I think the three midfield players had good control and Paul was part of it."

A fine performance from goalkeeper David de Gea helped United to their goalless draw away from home.The second leg will be played at Old Trafford on March 13.

 

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De Gea happy with 'important' wonder save after Man United scrape Sevilla draw


An understated David de Gea was satisfied with an astonishing save he labelled "important" after preserving a 0-0 draw for Manchester United at Sevilla.Jose Mourinho appeared to set up for a draw at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan and he got exactly that, with Sevilla controlling the majority of the contest, but unable to find a way past De Gea.They came closest through Luis Muriel, who saw a point-blank header pawed over the crossbar shortly before the interval.

De Gea had little interest in revelling in his spectacular intervention, admitting that Vincenzo Montella's side perhaps deserved more.He told BT Sport: "It was at the last minute of the first half so it was an important moment of the game.

"I made the save. I'm happy for that. "I think they had the best chances of the game. We defended well, but they had control of the ball, they played really well but the result is open and we need to play the second leg at Old Trafford."United only mustered a solitary shot on target in the game and Chris Smalling also espoused the importance of a second leg on home soil.

"It opened up in the second half," he said. "After the end of that first half, where David made a couple of good saves, they didn't have clear-cut chances but it's in our hands at home and you've got to win at home to go through anyway

"The atmosphere is very good here. It was loud, you can tell it was emotional and we had to dig in at times.

"You could tell they tired in that second half. The last 20 minutes we tried to put pressure on and it was very open."But it's a result that [means] we're confident at home."

 

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De Gea makes most Champions League saves for Man Utd since 2011

David de Gea's eight saves against Sevilla on Wednesday were the most for a Manchester United goalkeeper in Champions League play since 2011.

United managed a 0-0 draw at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in the last-16 first leg, and the Red Devils had their goalkeeper to thank for the result. De Gea made two particularly outstanding stops toward the end of the first half, especially from a point-blank Luis Muriel header.

The Red Devils were second best for most of the night in Andalusia, with Sevilla having a 25-6 advantage in total shots and an 8-1 advantage in shots on target.

Overall, the game was Manchester United’s ninth clean sheet in their last 11 matches in all competitions and their 23rd in all competitions this season. It was also the first time Sevilla had been held scoreless in a home European match since a UEFA Cup game against Mainz in September 2005.

With eight total saves, De Gea equaled Edwin van der Sar's mark in the Champions League final against Barcelona in May 2011, a game the Blaugrana still won 3-1.
United can advance to the Champions League quarter-final with a win in the return leg at Old Trafford on March 13.

 

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Arsenal 1 Ostersunds 2 (4-2 agg): Gunners through despite Emirates shock

Arsenal survived a huge scare to keep their Europa League campaign alive, progressing to the last 16 with a 4-2 aggregate win over Ostersunds despite a 2-1 loss at home on Thursday.

The Gunners cruised to a 3-0 win in the first leg in Sweden last week but found themselves 2-0 down at half-time of the return fixture at the Emirates Stadium.A strike from Sead Kolasinac early in the second half eased some of the nerves in north London, though, and ensured their place in Friday's draw for the last 16.




Ostersunds, who were only founded in October 1996, after Arsene Wenger had been appointed Arsenal manager, were fearless in their approach and sent the visiting fans into raptures when Calum Chambers' own goal and Ken Sema's strike put them 2-0 up in the space of 70 seconds in the first half.

A Gunners team including Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck offered little by way of a response until the second minute of the second half, when Kolasinac lashed home from close range.Graham Potter's visitors could not find the two goals they needed to complete a shock turnaround, but the performance will have given Wenger plenty to consider ahead of the EFL Cup final against Manchester City in three days' time.


Arsenal, no doubt with one eye on Sunday's showdown at Wembley, made little effort to add to their aggregate lead during the early stages in front of a sparse home crowd.

Ostersunds sensed the hosts' complacency and Hosam Aiesh stunned the Emirates 22 minutes in, latching onto Saman Ghoddos' long ball in behind Kolasinac and firing across David Ospina, with Chambers deflecting the effort into the net.Before the visiting fans had even finished celebrating, Sema capitalised on more slack defending from Arsenal, leaving Chambers for dead with a clever drag-back before rifling the ball into the bottom-right corner from the left of the penalty area.

Arsenal responded with a spell of possession but offered very little going forward, with a flicked header from Danny Welbeck, which was comfortably held by goalkeeper Aly Keita, the closest they came to a goal back in the first half.However, 90 seconds after the break, they eased some of the anxiety around the Emirates. Full-back Ronald Mukiibi swiped at Hector Bellerin's cross and missed, allowing Kolasinac to take a touch before smashing the ball into the net from 12 yards out.

Arsenal began to look a little more relaxed, with Mohamed Elneny and Danny Welbeck each denied by good saves from Keita, but Ostersunds looked a threat until the end and the Gunners will have to improve significantly if they are to claim the first major trophy of the English season this weekend.