Shakhtar dominated possession as expected but were toothless up front and Inter opened the scoring with their first chance after 19 minutes.
Arsenal's fans had waited nine long months to return to the club's north London stadium but the 2,000 people sprinkled across the red seats had to wait only nine minutes to enjoy the thrill of celebrating a goal in the flesh again on Thursday.
Romanians Astra handed West Ham United their first competitive defeat at the London Stadium as Slaven Bilic's team were beaten in the Europa League playoffs on Thursday.
A summary of Thursday's matches in the Europa League.
Tottenham Hotspur could face punishment from European soccer's governing body UEFA after their Europa League game with Partizan Belgrade on Thursday was suspended for several minutes following three separate pitch invasions.
'Every player needs that moment, that turning point ... to settle and hopefully now Arsenal can see what they paid for... 72 million pounds was seeming expensive until tonight'
Manchester United's hopes of salvaging their season in the Europa League suffered a stinging setback when they lost 2-1 at Danish side Midtjylland in the first leg of their last-32 clash on Thursday.
Jonatan Soriano's love affair with the Europa League continued as last season's top scorer grabbed a hat-trick on Thursday to help Salzburg become one of four teams to reach the knockout stages.
Three time European champions Inter Milan were stunned 2-0 at home by Israeli side Hapoel Beer-Sheva and Manchester United were floored by a late goal from Feyenoord as the Europa League group stage got underway on Thursday.
Rediff.com brings these and other big news from the sporting world, encapsulated in this photo feature...
Sevilla stayed firmly on course for a second consecutive Europa League crown when an Aleix Vidal double and a Kevin Gameiro strike secured a thumping 3-0 win at home to Fiorentina in their semi-final first leg on Thursday.
Liverpool romed into the Europa League final with a 3-0 win over Villarreal on another magical night at Anfield to tee up a showpiece clash with holders Sevilla who swatted away visitors Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 on Thursday.
As the country gets set to celebrate its 74th Independence Day on Saturday, India football team goalkeeper and Arjuna awardee Gurpreet Singh Sandhu wished fans across the world and stated that playing for the country "is a feeling like no other".
Barcelona have been drawn to play Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals. The other last-four tie will see Juventus, in their first semi-final since 2003, take on Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid, the defending champions.
'It was shambolic ... so bad' 'United didn't need a new philosophy, they had one for 20-odd years that worked'
Manchester United flirted with calamity before coasting into the Europa League last 16 as debutant Marcus Rashford helped them overcome an early blow with two goals in a 5-1 home victory over Midtjylland on Thursday.
Barcelona's Champions League last-16 second leg match with Napoli scheduled for March 18 will take place without spectators due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus, a club spokesman said on Tuesday. The match will take place at Camp Nou after a 1-1 draw in Napoli, but no supporters will be allowed to enter the stadium.
Images from UEFA Europa League semi-finals played on Thursday.
On Sunday the Ukrainian Tennis Federation urged the sport's governing body the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to immediately expel Russia and Belarus from the organisation and ban Russia from team and individual tournaments. Also, athletes from Ukraine and other nations have called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to suspend Russia and Belarus and ban their athletes from events immediately.
When Vijay Mallya plants a kiss on anyone's cheek it makes for a story and picture, more so when the Virat Kohli is the one at the 'receiving end'. Also, when Michael Schumacher's son, Mick, makes his motor sport debut the picture becomes worth a thousand words. Here again, Rediff.com has these and a lot more exciting events from the week gone by snapped right here.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Liverpool coach Juergen Klopp had praised Spanish clubs on the eve of the match, saying they had better scouting, coaches and player development than their English, German and Italian equivalents.
Qatar, host nation of the 2022 World Cup, is still doing little to improve conditions for migrant workers despite promising reform last year, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.
Borussia Dortmund snatched a late goal at Atalanta to progress with a 1-1 draw, while AC Milan and Atletico Madrid, both with three-goal leads from the away legs, completed the formality of qualifying with 1-0 wins at home on Thursday.
Paris St Germain will play Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona were pitted against an unpredictable Napoli, while Chelsea were drawn against Bayern Munich. City, who will be at home in the second leg, have yet to beat the Spanish side with two draws and two defeats in their previous four meetings.
Rediff.com brings you these and other exciting news from the week gone by in this photo feature...
A summary of Thursday's matches in Europe's second tier club football tournament
The unprecedented shutdown of world sport in response to the coronavirus spread that has infected more than 134,000 people and killed around 5,000 also prompted organisers to postpone the Formula One motor races in Vietnam and Bahrain. The start of the lucrative Indian Premier League has also been postponed until April 15 as a "precautionary measure", the Board of Control for Cricket in India said.
Villarreal's Adrian Lopez produced a stinging sucker punch in stoppage time to leave Liverpool reeling and move the Spaniards closer to a maiden European final after their Europa League last four first leg clash finished 1-0 on Thursday.
Factbox on Jose Mourinho, who was named manager of Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday
Soccer highlights from across the globe.
National team goalkeeper Gurpreet Singh Sandhu became the first Indian player to be signed by an Indian club from an European club in a move involving a transfer fee.
Turkish side Fenerbahce will be unable to compete in the Europa League this season after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a UEFA-imposed two-year ban from European competition over a match-fixing scandal on Wednesday.
The 2021 men's and women's U-17 European Championships have been cancelled due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, UEFA said on Friday.
Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa haunted Arsenal again by firing his side to a 1-0 win in Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg to send the Spaniards into the final and deny Arsene Wenger a dream end to his long reign as Arsenal coach.
Metalist Kharkiv, due to play Schalke 04 in the Champions League play-off round next week, has been kicked out of the competition over a domestic match-fixing case dating back to 2008, the UEFA said on Wednesday. The decision by UEFA's appeals committee came 10 days after Metalist lost an appeal at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Sepp Blatter, Luis Figo, Michael van Praag and Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein have bid to stand for FIFA president.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester United's woes deepened as stunning goals by Moussa Sow and Jeremain Lens gave Fenerbahce a 2-1 Europa League win on Thursday that left Jose Mourinho's side facing a battle to reach the knockout stages.
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