Lisbon, Mar.10 (BNA): Premier League leaders Arsenal did enough to hold Sporting Lisbon to a 2-2 draw in a lively first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie, reports Reuters.
Gunners manager Mikel Arteta made six changes from the team that started the last-gasp 3-2 win over Bournemouth, giving forward Reiss Nelson his first start since November and a debut to defender Jakub Kiwior.
The visitors dominated the early stages and took the lead in the 22nd minute through William Saliba’s close-range header from a corner but Sporting equalised 12 minutes later when unmarked defender Goncalo Inacio headed from a corner.
Inacio’s goal fired up Sporting’s fans and their team responded as they went ahead in the 55th minute when Paulinho stroked in a rebound after goalkeeper Matt Turner saved a point-blank shot from Pedro Goncalves following good work from Marcus Edwards, a former Tottenham Hotspur academy player.
Arsenal fought back to earn a draw, however, after a mistake by Hidemasa Morita, whose attempt to block a Granit Xhaka cross ended up in his own net.
Source: Bahrain News Agency