Man United and Tottenham enjoy big away wins

Red Devils crushed Real Sociedad 4-0 in a game played in Turin while Mourinho’s side won 4-1 against Wolfsberg

LONDON:

Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur built hefty leads with emphatic away wins in their Europa League last 32 first-leg matches but AC Milan were held to a 2-2 draw at Red Star Belgrade as the competition resumed on Thursday.

United crushed Real Sociedad 4-0 in a game played in Turin because of Covid-19 restrictions between the UK and Spain with Bruno Fernandes again proving pivotal for his side with a brace.

The Portuguese midfielder opened the scoring after 27 minutes with his 20th goal of the season and curled in his second after 57 minutes before Marcus Rashford and Daniel James completed the rout. "We deserved to win but maybe not by four goals. On a night like this when we find spaces we can be a dangerous team," United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.

Tottenham's away leg against Austrian side Wolfsberg was also switched to a different country with their 4-1 victory staged in the Puskas Arena in Budapest.

Gareth Bale set up Son Heung-min before scoring a classy second as he marked a rare start with a strong display before being substituted midway through the second half. Lucas Moura made it 3-0 with a solo effort but Wolfsberg improved after the break and Michael Liendl pulled a goal back from the penalty spot.

Tottenham substitute Carlos Vinicius touched home his side's late fourth to complete a confidence-boosting win for Spurs who have lost four of their last five Premier League games.

Milan were seconds away from victory in Belgrade but a stoppage-time header by substitute Milan Pavkov earned 10-man Red Star a 2-2 draw.

The Italians led 1-0 and 2-1 thanks to a Radovan Pankov own goal and a Theo Hernandez penalty but Red Star, who had Milan Rodic sent off in the 76th minute, hit back through a Guelor Kanga penalty. There were plenty of goals about with Young Boys beating Bayer Leverkusen 4-3 at home.

The Swiss side led 3-0 with goals by Christian Fassnacht, Jordan Siebatcheu and Meschack Elia but Leverkusen stormed back to level with Patrik Schick twice on target before Siebatcheu struck again in the 89th minute.

Olympiakos beat PSV Eindhoven 4-2 while Bruno Petkovic scored twice for Dinamo Zagreb in a 3-2 victory in Krasnodar. AS Roma eased to a 2-0 win at Braga with Edin Dzeko scoring early and Borja Mayoral striking late on.

Leicester City were held to a 0-0 draw away to Slavia Prague while Dynamo Kiev and Brugge drew 1-1. Benfica were hosting Arsenal in one of Thursday's late kickoffs.