United win 2-0 at Ajax, Atletico 3-1 at Lazio, Schalke held

By John Bagratuni Feb 16, 2012, 19:58 GMT

Berlin - Manchester United raised their game in the second half to win 2-0 at Ajax Amsterdam on Thursday and take a big step towards the round of 16 in the Europa League.

Ashley Young and Javier Hernandez were on target for United in Amsterdam's Arena.

Their semi-final opponents from last season's Champions League, Germany's Schalke, were held 1-1 at Czech underdogs Viktoria Plzen, and the 2010 Europa League champions Atletico Madrid triumphed 3-1 at Italy's Lazio.

The remaining round of 32 first-leg ties were scheduled for later Thursday, including a visit of Premier League leaders Manchester City to title holders Porto. The return legs are next week.

The Champions League exit of the two Manchester sides was a major surprise but each side said they now aim to get the Europa League trophy on May 9 in Bucharest.

However, United didn't look like contenders early on in Amsterdam, and it took another super save of David de Gea against the blast of Siem de Jong to avoid a deficit.

Sir Alex Ferguson's team improved after the break and Young put them ahead in the 59th with a low shot off Nani's cross amid confusion in the Ajax area.

Hernandez assured United of victory on the counter in the 85th after nice work from Antonio Valencia and Wayne Rooney.

In Rome, Germany striker Miroslav Klose tapped Lazio in front, but Adrian Lopez and Falcao reversed matters before the break.

The former Porto player Falcao got his second for the 3-1 scoreline in the 62nd which should all but see Atletico through into the next round.

The 1997 UEFA Cup champions Schalke fell behind in Plzen from a fine volley by Vladimir Darida midway through the first half, but, like United, improved after the break and Dutch striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar grabbed the equalizer with 16 minutes left.

'We can play better but all the counts is the next round. We are in a good position,' Schalke sports director Horst Heldt told Sky TV.

Elsewhere, Taison scored 19 seconds into the game and Jonathan Cristaldo had a double as visiting Metalist Kharkiv of Ukraine routed Austria's Red Bull Salzburg 4-0 for the biggest win so far on the day.

Dutch side AZ Alkmaar defeated Belgium's Anderlecht 1-0, Sporting Lisbon got an 88th minute 2-2 equalizer from Andre Sanos at Legia Warsaw, and Lokomotiv Moscow claimed a 2-1 comeback victory over Athletic Bilbao.

On Tuesday, Olympiakos Piraeus won 1-0 at Rubin Kazan and Besiktas 2-0 at last season's runners-up Braga.