Manchester United vs AS Roma certainly didn't disappoint in the entertainment department.While European first legs can often be tentative chess matches where neither team wants to throw away the tie early doors, you could rest assured of an absolute slugfest at Old Trafford on Thursday.In a first-half that saw no less than three(!!!) Roma players forced off with injuries, it was still the Italians that entered the break with the advantage.
Man Utd vs AS Roma
However, they had to come from behind to do so because Bruno Fernandes had crowned a superb team move from United, featuring some brilliant feet from Paul Pogba, to chip the goalkeeper.
But it was a short-lived advantage because Pogba was punished for what looked to be a completely accidental handball, conceding a penalty that Lorenzo Pellegrini proceeded to tuck away.
And then things got even better for the Romans as Edin Dzeko bundled in from close range to become the first player to score against United at Old Trafford in the 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.
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Man Utd score waterfall of goals
However, whatever Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told his United team at the break seemed to work a treat because the Red Devils went from trailing 2-1 to producing an absolute European masterclass.
Edinson Cavani drew the scores level early in the second-half with a gorgeous top corner strike, before coming up with the goods again to fire United into the lead, this time with a poacher's finish.
And from that point onwards, the floodgates truly opened with Bruno Fernandes scoring his latest penalty when former United man Chris Smalling was punished for a foul on Cavani of all people.
Then, just to ensure the tie came full circle, it was Pogba who fired United into a 5-2 by firing home a wonderful header with 15 minutes left on the clock. Check out his brilliant finish down below:
Cherry on the Europa League cake
But United weren't finished there because Cavani produced yet another moment of brilliance by finding Mason Greenwood with a superb outside-of-the-foot pass, before watching him finish.
You could just imagine in your head how jubilant a full Old Trafford would have been in that moment but even with 75,000 empty seats, you could still feel electricity amongst the United squad.
As such, even though there wasn't to be a seventh goal, the joy amongst Solskjaer's men was palpable in what looks, surely, to be the end of their semi-final hoodoo under the Norwegian.
After two seasons of disappointment across the Europa League, Carabao Cup and FA Cup, it appears to have taken a devastating display over an Italian giant to set them up for a major final.
United smashing Roma at home in a European competition? Rings a bell, that, doesn't it?