Manchester United has advanced to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League after defeating F.C. Copenhagen through a penalty in extra time. Meanwhile, Inter Milan also advanced after a 2-1 victory against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

United struggled in the first half in Cologne and were demoralised after a penalty was overturned and a goal was disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR). The Premier League side came back stronger in the second half but another goal by Marcus Rashford ended up being disallowed.

It was a hard-fought battle between the Red Devils and F.C. Copenhagen and both sides kept it goalless up until the 90th minute. Because of the modified single-knockout format of the 2019-2020 UEFA Europa League, the match had to go into extra time.

Copenhagen could no longer hold on and Bruno Fernandes was able to slot in a calm spot kick early in extra time. It was a big blow for the Danish side's keeper Karl-Johan Johnsson, who had otherwise been having a superb match. According to stats shared by BBC, he recorded a total of 13 saves throughout the match. In comparison, his teammates didn't take a single shot on target at the opposite end of the field.

Meanwhile in Dusseldorf, Inter Milan took on Bayer Leverkusen and booked their ticket to the semi-finals. Inter took the early lead in the 15th minute after Nicolo Barella fired a 20-yard shot into the back of the net.

Romelu Lukaku then doubled the Italian side's lead as he danced his way around a defender and scored his 31st goal of the season. That was also Lukaku's ninth consecutive goal in as many matches in this year's Europa League. Kai Havertz pulled one back for Leverkusen but it wasn't enough.

Manchester United is waiting for the winner between Wolves and Sevilla in their quarter-final clash tonight. Meanwhile, Inter Milan is also waiting to face either Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Basel. The Europa League semi-finals will be played on August 16 and 17 while the final is set on August 21.

Europa League
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