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Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has sent a message to his former Sporting Lisbon teammates after they beat Arsenal to advance to the Europa League quarter-finals.

The Gunners, who drew the Portuguese 2-2 at the Emirates in the first leg, looked set to reach the quarter-finals after Granit Xhaka gave them the lead, but Pedro Goncalves equalized with a sensational shot from the mid-rail line. .

Neither team could find a winner in regulation or extra time, and the clash ended on penalties. It was the visiting team that triumphed in the penalty shootout, with Gabriel Martinelli seeing his penalty saved as Sporting sealed their progression to the last 16 of the competition.

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Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag’s side secured their place in the quarterfinals with a 5-1 aggregate victory over La Liga side Real Betis, with the Reds winning 1-0 in Spain in the second leg on Thursday for the night. After the game, Fernandes was eager to celebrate United’s victory, but he also congratulated his former teammates.

Fernandes reached out to the Sporting Goncalves midfielder on Instagram to praise him for his incredible goal. He said: “But what is this”, along with a series of emojis expressing his admiration for the 24-year-old.

United manager Ten Hag praised Fernandes after his individual performance in the win over Betis. Speaking to the media at his post-match press conference, the Dutchman said: “He is very strong, he is very good at recovery first, so he is a very good athlete. He has so much energy, he can play in so many roles. , for the tactic (is) brilliant for the team that can play (these) roles.”

He added: “We can play him there (in midfield) where we can benefit from him to overload areas, where he can outplay opponents, so we can be in good situations and thus create chances.

“He’s also very important in counter-pressing and pressing, so his transition is a really fantastic skill for him.”

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