Europa League scores: Manchester United get huge win; Arsenal draw; Rangers win seven-goal thriller

The Europa League round of 32 first legs have been completed

The Europa League is back. The knockout stage of the competition got underway Thursday, with 32 teams battling to advance. Manchester United and Tottenham both started their knockout stages on the right foot with big wins over Real Sociedad and Wolfsberg, respectively. The late window saw Arsenal draw against Benfica whilst Napoli lost away to Granada. Second leg fixtures will take place next week on Feb. 24 and 25. 

You can find all of Thursday's results below, as well as takeaways. Every Europa League match is streaming on CBS All Access. 

Europa League round of 32 results

Round of 32 first legs 

Dynamo Kiev 1, Brugge 1
Real Sociedad 0, Manchester United 4
Wolfsberg 1, Tottenham Hotspur 4
Olympiacos 4, PSV Eindhoven 2
Slavia Prague 0, Leicester City 0
Young Boys 4, Bayer Leverkusen 3
Red Star Belgrade 2, AC Milan 2
Braga 0, AS Roma 2
Krasnodar 2, Dinamo Zagreb 3
Lille 1, Ajax 2
Benfica 1, Arsenal 1
Molde 3, Hoffenheim 3
Maccabi Tel-Aviv 0, Shakhtar Donetsk 2
Royal Antwerp 3, Rangers 4
Granada 2, Napoli 0
Red Bull Salzburg 0 Villarreal 2

Manchester United dominate Real Sociedad

Manchester United's Europa League title hunt is looking brighter after they defeated Real Sociedad, 4-0, on Thursday in the round of 32 first leg. It was a thrilling start between the two sides at the neutral site in Turin, Italy as they exchanged looks in front of goal, but United struck first in the opening half.

The Premier League side scored near the half hour mark after a mix-up in the box as Bruno Fernandes scored the opening goal in the 27th minute. Real Sociedad made an effort to find the equalizer as they retained possession throughout, but United carried the one-goal lead into halftime. 

The Red Devils would build on their lead in the second half after rueing some of their earlier missed opportunities. Fernandes remained a problem for Sociedad's backline as he scored his second goal in the 57th minute. Marcus Rashford would add to United's aggregate as he scored the third goal in the 64th minute.

The final dagger against the La Liga side came in the 90th minute of the match as Daniel James provided a demoralizing fourth goal, securing the advantage into the second leg to be played in Old Trafford.

Thrillers aplenty as last 32 begins

The Europa League certainly did not leave anyone wanting for entertainment as its 16 ties brought 59 goals including two seven-goal splits that began early in the day with Swiss side Young Boys racing into a three-goal lead at the interval against Bayer Leverkusen before being pegged back in less than 20 second-half minutes by a Patrik Schick brace and Moussa Diaby. That was not the end of the drama as Jordan Siebatcheu emerged in the 89th minute to strike for Young Boys to take the finest of leads to Germany.

Meanwhile in Antwerp, Rangers emerged victorious from a topsy-turvy contest that they led 1-0 before slipping to a 3-2 deficit with less than 10 minutes to play. Winger Ryan Kent restored parity before VAR pointed to a handball by Abdoulaye Seck in the dying moments, Borna Barisic stepping up to score his second penalty of the night.

Meanwhile, U.S. international Timothy Weah's goal looked set to be the difference-maker in an intriguing tie between Lille and Ajax in the 86th minute before a Dusan Tadic penalty and smart finish by teenager Brian Brobbey earned a victory for the Dutch side on their travels.

Tournament front-runners falter

Leverkusen were not the only big name to stumble out of the traps in the Europa League knockouts with Napoli, among the pre-tournament favorites, falling to a 2-0 defeat in Granada as Yangel Herrera and Kenedy netted in the space of two first-half minutes for the Spanish side.

Arsenal seemed bound for troubles of their own in Rome, where they were playing the away leg of their tie against Benfica. Pizzi converted from the penalty spot in a match where Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed several promising chances for the Gunners. However Bukayo Saka, one of the star youngsters behind the recent revival of Mikel Arteta's side, was on hand to turn home the equalizer that gives the Gunners the slightest of advantages before their 'home' game in Athens in seven days' time.