The Europa League round 16 clash between Manchester United and Real Betis slipped into chaos after a scuffle nearly broke out between fans from both sides.
Real Betis fans apparently incensed by the outrageous scoreline after conceding three in the second half attempted to engage United fans in what would have turned out to be a mass brawl.
Manchester United swept by the wayside their heavy Premier League defeat to Liverpool in their last game to thump the ambitious Manuel Pellegrini boys 4-1 at Old Trafford.
Real Betis seemed to have braced up for the Man United challenge in the first half after Perez cancel out Marcus Rashford’s 6th-minute opener with a right-footed half-volley from inside the United box. But the tides turned in the second half after Antony’s left-footed wonder strike left Real Betis goalkeeper stunned and helpless, restoring Manchester United’s lead.
The Red Devils bounced back from a heavy Anfield defeat to Liverpool to produce a scintillating and brilliant performance against the LaLiga side.
In the second half, the Red Devils ran riot on their visitors, scoring for fun and inflicting a heavy defeat on Real Betis.
After Antony’s strike, Bruno Fernandes was on target 6 minutes later to secure the win with a third goal for Manchester United, bringing the scoreline to 3-1.
In the 82nd minute, Wout Weghorst who had missed several chances in the game finally scored his first Old Trafford goal for Manchester United.
The Dutch fired in a rebound to score Manchester United’s final goal in the match and put the Red Devils on a good footing going into the second leg in Spain.
After Wout Weghorst’s strike, some Real Betis fans were spotted trying to break into the stand of the home fans to foment trouble.
They nearly beat the barricades separating the two sets of fans in an attempt to launch attacks and spark a mass brawl that would have ground the game to a halt.
The ugly incident erupted while the match was still ongoing with riot police and security operatives battling tooth and nail to quell and contain the chaos.
Despite the effort of the security operatives, Scuffles were already breaking out as a handful of Real Betis fans already broken into the Man United fans’ stand and began to launch attacks. Some seats on the stand were hurled up and thrown as missiles as the crisis raged.
However, the resolute riot police, who had swung into action immediately were able to contain the situation and brought back normalcy.
The match ended with a big win for Manchester United who seemed to have emerged stronger after the heavy defeat to Liverpool.
The mission is far from complete for Erik Ten Hag but a 4-1 first-leg win is a big step toward a quarterfinal ticket.
The Red Devils will travel to Spain for the second leg on Thursday 16 March as they hope to continue their push for a treble this season.
Watch the video of the incident below;
