Hojlund Scores 2 for Man United to Give Amorim Winning Home Debut in Europa League

Soccer Football - Europa League - Manchester United v Bodo/Glimt - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - November 28, 2024 Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund celebrates scoring their third goal with Manuel Ugarte REUTERS/Molly Darlington
Soccer Football - Europa League - Manchester United v Bodo/Glimt - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - November 28, 2024 Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund celebrates scoring their third goal with Manuel Ugarte REUTERS/Molly Darlington
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Hojlund Scores 2 for Man United to Give Amorim Winning Home Debut in Europa League

Soccer Football - Europa League - Manchester United v Bodo/Glimt - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - November 28, 2024 Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund celebrates scoring their third goal with Manuel Ugarte REUTERS/Molly Darlington
Soccer Football - Europa League - Manchester United v Bodo/Glimt - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - November 28, 2024 Manchester United's Rasmus Hojlund celebrates scoring their third goal with Manuel Ugarte REUTERS/Molly Darlington

Rasmus Hojlund scored twice as Manchester United fought back to beat Norwegian team Bodø/Glimt 3-2 in the Europa League on Thursday to give new manager Ruben Amorim a victory in his first game at Old Trafford.
Hojlund also set up the opening goal scored by Alejandro Garnacho in the opening minute of the game, but United still had to stage a comeback in order to stay unbeaten in the competition with two victories and three draws, The Associated Press reported.
“I see what everybody sees: good moments, difficult moments," Amorim told TNT Sports "There was some confusion in the end, trying to hold on to the result, but the lads did a great job. They ran, they pressed, they tried to do the things we have worked on in the last three days and we won.”
After the visitors took a 2-1 lead, Hojlund equalized just before halftime and then scored the winner five minutes into the second half from close range, tapping in a cross from Manuel Ugarte.
After leaving Portuguese leader Sporting Lisbon to replace the fired Erik ten Hag as United manager, Amorim made his debut in charge of United in a 1-1 draw at Ipswich in the English Premier League with Marcus Rashford scoring 81 seconds into the game.
In the Europa League, the goal came even sooner.
Hojlund intercepted a back pass to goalkeeper Nikita Haikin to allow Garnacho to put United ahead in the first minute.
Hakon Evjen equalized in the 19th minute with a perfectly directed first-time left-foot strike from the edge of the area and Philip Zinckernagel gave the Norwegian champion the lead, finishing off a fast counter after Tyrell Malacia failed to stop him. Malacia made his first senior appearance in 550 days and was substituted at halftime by Diogo Dalot.
Tottenham continued to show inconsistent form as it was held 2-2 at home by struggling Roma. Tottenham lost 3-2 to Galatasaray in the previous round, then beat Manchester City 4-0 away in the Premier League, and gave up a late equalizer against Roma.
Captain Son Heung-min gave Spurs an early lead with a fifth-minute penalty but Evan N’Dicka pulled Roma level in the 20th. Brennan Johnson restored the lead for Tottenham in the first half but the hosts couldn't hang on as Mats Hummels salvaged a draw in stoppage time.
Earlier, Athletic Bilbao cruised past Elfsborg 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday to join Lazio and Frankfurt at the top the 36-team standings.
Lazio missed a chance to remain the only team with a perfect record after five games as it was held 0-0 by Ludogorets at Stadio Olimpico. In Spain, Adama Boiro, Benat Prados and Gorku Guruzeta all scored for Bilbao.
Frankfurt, the 2022 Europa League winner, won 2-1 at Midtjylland.
Like in the new-look Champions League, the top eight teams after the eight-round league phase advance directly to the round of 16 in March, and teams placed from ninth to 24th enter a playoffs in February.
Among other results, Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce rebounded from its first defeat at Alkmaar (3-1) with a 2-1 win at Slavia Prague, Rangers won 4-1 at Nice, Ajax lost 2-0 to Real Sociedad and Braga eased past Hoffenheim 3-0.
Galatasaray drew 1-1 away at AZ Alkmaar after Victor Osimhen equalized for the Turkish club before halftime with his third goal in his last two Europa League games. Sven Mijnans scored early for Alkmaar, which finished the game with 10 men after substitute Kees Smit was sent off in injury time.
Georges Mikaukadze scored two goals while substitute Corentin Tolisso and Malick Fofana added one each for Lyon to rout host Qarabag 4-1.
Maccabi Tel-Aviv ended a four-game losing run with a 3-1 victory over Besiktas in a game that was played at a neutral venue in Debrecen, Hungary, after Turkish authorities decided not to host match.
That decision followed unrest after Maccabi’s recent Europa League game in Amsterdam, where at least five fans were injured in violent street attacks, after their team’s 5-0 loss to Ajax.
The game was played without fans at the request of Hungarian authorities.
Gavriel Kanichowsky, Dor Perets and Weslley Patati had a goal apiece for the Israeli team, while Rafa Silva netted for Besiktas.
Dynamo Kyiv lost its fifth straight game, this time 2-1 to Viktoria Plzeň. The consolation goal for the Ukrainian team, scored by Vladyslav Kobaiev in stoppage time, was the first for Dynamo in the competition.
Conference League Chelsea has been cruising the third-tier Conference League with the fourth win from four after beating Heidenheim 2-0.
In a matchup of between two teams that were perfect, Christopher Nkunku broke the deadlock in the second half from close range before Mykhailo Mudryk roofed the second from inside the area.
Chelsea midfielder Cesare Casadei received his second yellow card in stoppage time and was sent off.
Legia Warsaw remained the only other perfect team after a 3-0 win at Omonia.



Botafogo Faces Atletico Mineiro in Copa Libertadores Final

Soccer Football  - Copa Libertadores - Final - Preview - Buenos Aires, Argentina - November 28, 2024 Botafogo president Durcesio Mello poses for a selfie ahead of the match REUTERS/Francisco Loureiro
Soccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Final - Preview - Buenos Aires, Argentina - November 28, 2024 Botafogo president Durcesio Mello poses for a selfie ahead of the match REUTERS/Francisco Loureiro
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Botafogo Faces Atletico Mineiro in Copa Libertadores Final

Soccer Football  - Copa Libertadores - Final - Preview - Buenos Aires, Argentina - November 28, 2024 Botafogo president Durcesio Mello poses for a selfie ahead of the match REUTERS/Francisco Loureiro
Soccer Football - Copa Libertadores - Final - Preview - Buenos Aires, Argentina - November 28, 2024 Botafogo president Durcesio Mello poses for a selfie ahead of the match REUTERS/Francisco Loureiro

Brazilian team Botafogo could give owner John Textor his biggest soccer success yet if it beats Atletico Mineiro in the Copa Libertadores final on Saturday.
The American businessman also owns several European soccer teams but has come under widespread criticism from fans there because of financial difficulties and poor results. He's had his share of critics in Brazil, too, after making unproven allegations about match-fixing when Botafogo squandered a 13-point lead to miss out on the league title last year, The Associated Press reported.
Seeing Botafogo lift its first continental title would be a rare triumph.
Botafogo was relegated from the Brazilian league in 2020 but has risen to prominence again with Textor’s investment. He was part of a wave of foreign owners who came into Brazilian soccer after a 2021 law change paved the way for private investments.
Textor's Eagle Football also owns Crystal Palace in the Premier League, French club Lyon and RWD Molenbeek in Belgium.
At Botafogo, he has spent big on star signings such as Argentina midfielder Thiago Almada for $25 million and winger Luiz Henrique for $21 million. The team is also on the verge of winning the Brazilian league for the first time since 1995, after climbing back to the top of the table with a 3-1 win at Palmeiras on Tuesday. A victory at Internacional next week could clinch the domestic trophy for the Rio de Janeiro-based team.
The team's Portuguese coach Arthur Jorge, who arrived at the club in April, insisted he's not under any pressure going into the final.
"I am living an adventure that has been extraordinary,” Jorge said.
If Botafogo wins, Jorge would join his compatriots Jorge Jesus (Flamengo 2019) and Abel Ferreira (Palmeiras in 2020 and 2021) as European coaches with a Copa Libertadores title.
However, Botafogo will be without injured striker Júnior Santos, who is the competition’s leading with nine goals despite not having played since having surgery on his left leg in July, before the round of 16.
Atletico Mineiro also has wealthy owner in Brazilian billionaire Rubens Menin, a construction mogul. The Belo Horizonte-based club won its first and only Copa Libertadores title in 2013 after a penalty shootout against Paraguay’s Olimpia.
And while Botafogo is on a high, Mineiro has not won any of its last 10 matches since beating River Plate in the first leg of the Libertadores semifinals. It eliminated defending champion Fluminense of Brazil in the quarterfinals.
Mineiro will rely on veteran striker Hulk, 38, and his younger attacking partner Paulinho — on loan from Bayer Leverkusen — to break down Botafogo’s defense. Hulk has four assists in this edition of the Copa Liberadores.
The club also counts on the experience of midfielder Gustavo Scarpa and center forward Deyverson, who both won the competition with Palmeiras in 2021.
“We are going to Buenos Aires with the faith and conviction that we will win,” said coach Gabriel Milito, who can become the first Argentine to win the trophy with a Brazilian team. “We have to play the final with a lot of courage, with a lot of confidence. We know that we have to neutralize their offensive game very well and we also have to generate danger through ours.”
Whoever wins at the Monumental de Nunez Stadium in Buenos Aires will give Brazil its sixth consecutive Copa Libertadores title and the 24th in history, just one less than host Argentina.
Dozens of buses left Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte and other cities in Brazil early in the week filled with fans going to watch the match in the Argentine capital.
The winner gets prize money of $23 million and a spot in the Club World Cup in the United States next year.