The UEFA Europa League’s round of 16 draw took place in Nyon, Switzerland, on February 23rd and it set up some very exciting encounters which are sure to have football fans all over the world watching with very keen interest, and the first round of games last Thursday did not disappoint. By the end of today (14th March) we will know who is going through to the next round.
Starting with the English teams, three-time winners and favourites Liverpool got an easy draw with Sparta Praha, a crucial bit of luck for their season defining games against Manchester City in the league and Manchester United in the cup the following fixtures.
European newcomers Brighton and Hove Albion wanted an easy away trip for progression, but the fans wanted another memorable away trip, and got last season’s finalists AS Roma.
UEFA Conference League holders West Ham United faced off against German side SC Freiburg.
Scottish side Rangers go toe-to-toe with Champions League dropouts SL Benfica
Elsewhere, Sporting CP drew Italian club Atalanta, high-flying Bayer Leverkusen lock horns with Azerbaijani side Qarabag FK. Olympique Marseille take on 2020/21 winners Villarreal, AC Milan drew Slavia Praha.
Sparta Praha vs Liverpool
1st Leg 1-5
The Reds travelled to the Czech Republic for the first leg on March 7. It was the almost perfect result as Liverpool rested key players, and still stormed it 5-1 with the only disappointment was a minor injury to Ibrahima Konaté and an own goal from Conor Bradley which hopefully won’t dent his confidence much after such an outstanding breakthrough.
The convincing 5-1 win in the Czech capital last week was great for many reasons, Darwin Nunez was on form with a double, Salah got minutes and only the offside flag stopped him scoring. Alexis Mac Allister, Luis Díaz and Dominik Szoboszlai all scored too.
It was a good preparation for the season defining clash against Manchester City, which the Reds were denied an obvious penalty in the dying seconds which would should have seen victory. Ironically, most Liverpool fans would have took the 1-1 draw at half time, but after that second half now consider it 2 points lost.
Tonight should be a breeze, back by a packed Anfield where European nights are magical. Since Klopp announced his retirement, Liverpool tickets are like gold dust despite the new 61,276 capacity. It’s cost me £450 a ticket to get hospitality for the Crystal Palace match in April.
With one foot in the next round, and Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday, I suspect the line-up will be based on taking no risks and giving minutes.
How they got there
Sparta Praha qualified for this season’s UEFA Europa League group stage after claiming a 5-4 aggregate win over Dinamo Zagreb in the playoffs.
Sparta’s 10-point haul in the groups was good enough to see them finish in second place behind Rangers in Group C and set a knockout play-offs date with one of the Champions League dropouts. They faced Galatasaray in the knockout play-offs and secured a 6-4 aggregate win to progress to the round of 16.
Liverpool have had to make do with a place in the Europa League group stage this season after an underwhelming Premier League campaign last term.
The Anfield giants finished top of Group E with 12 points after four wins and two losses in the group stage.
Prediction
Liverpool will progress into the quarterfinals with ease, with an eye on lifting the trophy in Dublin to make 2024 a send off to remember.
Roma vs Brighton
1st Leg 4-0
I moved to Brighton in 2003, and despite not making it to the first team, I have continued watching them since. Obviously it goes without saying, all Seagulls fans are super proud and have long enough memories of the dark days of selling the Goldstone ground and the Hereford. And from Withdean to Wembley, Marseille, Athens, Amsterdam and Rome were added to the list of places to go. With possibly the best Tiramisu ever tasted.
No excuses, Roma played Brighton off the park in their first European knockout tournament encounter. Dybala, Lukaku, Mancini, and Cristante all scored to make it look easy. The Stadio Olimpico felt more like the Colosseum. At the back Igor had a shocker, and frankly if Steele starts in goal again I’ll be eyeing up the lounge behind me if it’s raining.
With first choice wingers Mitoma and March out for the season, and top scorer Joao Pedro also injured, it was up to Adingra, Buonanotte, and Enciso to create chances for Welbeck up front. Don’t let the Ivory Coast AFCON winners medal detract from the fact that they are 22, 19, 20. Even Enciso’s goal of the season award doesn’t reflect that he’s been sluggish since his return from months out injured.
Still, bar those 90 minutes on the pitch, the unnecessary banner about the Queen, the missiles raining down thrown from the home fans, and trying to get the buses out of the stadium, it was another great city break trip for the fans (second to Amsterdam in all honesty). Although spare a thought for Andy and Jack who got stabbed in the buttocks and Joey who took a hiding by masked thugs who robbed them.
Despite those incidents last week, Brighton Police will be sending the Roma fans on the train from the centre of town (what could go wrong there?), so I look forward to that later with the thoughts of Sean Cox in my mind.
Anyway, back to the game. Brighton did get back to winning ways against Forest on Sunday, and have scored 5 in recent weeks. But that was against Sheffield United both times, not someone as disciplined as Roma. It won’t happen again, although no doubt the passionate Roberto de Zebri will be driving the players to give it a good go.
The only plus side is there is a weekend break and no game until Liverpool 31st March so they can go for it. But that just rubs it in to be honest, as they should have beaten Wolves for the easy FA Cup home fixture against Coventry (for some payback for everyone thinking they discovered Viktor Gyökeres rather than getting lucky by taking him on loan from Brighton and him wanting game time)
How they got there
Roma booked their place in this season’s Europa League group stage after a sixth-place finish in the Serie A last season.
The Giallorossi placed second in Group G after gathering 13 points from six matches and earned themselves a knockout play-off tie. Roma faced Feyenoord in the knockout play-offs, needing a 4-2 shootout win after finishing the tie 2-2 on aggregate.
Brighton also earned their spot in the Europa League group stage with a sixth-place finish in the Premier League last season.
The Seagulls finished as Group B winners with 13 points from six matches, with that first game loss to AEK Athens a distant memory. Hard to tell that Brighton are only just making a first appearance on the continental scene.
The Giallorossi, who were finalists in this competition last season will be looking to go one better this time around.
Prediction
Brighton will exit, hopefully with some pride salvaged against Roma.
Freiburg vs West Ham United
1st Leg 1-0
Out of form West Ham got the draw I wanted for Brighton in the absence of Sevilla, an easy game and a nice German city to visit. So it was a surprise that they lost 1-0 to a late Gregoritsch goal, especially as they beat them both times in the group stages (2-1 away and 2-0 at home).
In fairness, they should have won comfortably, or least got a draw when they were denied a last minute penalty after a clear handball in the box. Despite a VAR check, and the referee invited to look at the incident on the monitor, the ref stuck to his on field decision.
Still, West Ham are more than capable of overturning the one goal deficient at the London Stadium.
How they got there
SC Freiburg earned their spot in this season’s Europa League group stage after a fifth-place finish in the Bundesliga last season.
The German side gathered 12 points (4W, 0D, 2L) to finish in second place behind West Ham United in group A and secure a place in the Europa League knockout play-off rounds where they edged past RC Lens 3-2 on aggregate to reach the round of 16.
West Ham United booked their place in this season’s UEFA Europa League after their UEFA Europa Conference League triumph last season.
The Hammers finished top of group A with 15 points (5W, 0D, 1L) to earn themselves a spot in the round of 16.
Prediction
West Ham to progress, but it will be close.
Benfica vs Rangers
1st Leg 2-2
Fair play to Rangers, they have a real chance at Ibrox to put this to bed. In the first leg Tom Lawrence headed them into a 7th minute lead, before an evergreen 36 year old Angel Di Maria equalised with an injury time first half penalty.
Kodus to Rangers here, as most teams would have kept it tight and gone into the break level. But the Gers went for it and got their dividends as Dujon Sterling put them back into the lead.
Ex-Brighton player Connor Goldson headed into his own net under no real pressure, but it was a good result for the Scots and gives them confidence to get a result.
How they got there
Benfica find themselves in the Europa League after failing to qualify from their group in the Champions League.
The Portuguese champions dropped to Europe’s second-tier football competition after an abysmal showing in the group stage of the Champions League. They edged past Toulouse in the Europa League knockout play-offs 2-1 on aggregate to secure a round of 16 spot.
Rangers qualified for the group stage of this season’s Europa League by beating Servette and PSV in the third qualifying round and play-offs respectively.
The Scottish side finished top of a tough group C with 11 points to earn themselves a place in the round of 16.
Benfica are flying domestically but have yet to find their feet in Europe. The Portuguese champions travel to Scotland for the second leg on March 14.
Prediction
I still fancy Benfica here to come on on aggregate over the two legs. Away goals no longer count in any European competition, and that includes the 2023/24 Europa League. I’m hope I’m wrong and hope the Ibrox crowd give them the boost they need.
Sporting CP vs Atalanta
1st Leg 1-1
How they got there
Sporting CP qualified for this season’s UEFA Europa League group stage after finishing in fourth position in the Primeira Liga last term
The Portuguese giants finished second in the group behind Atalanta after managing 11 points from six group stage matches, recording 3W, 2D, and 1L to see them secure a place in the knockout playoff rounds. Sporting faced Champions League dropouts Young Boys in the knockout play-offs and emerged 4-2 aggregate winners after doing the damage in the first leg.
Atalanta booked their place in this season’s UEFA Europa League group stage after a fifth-place finish in the Serie A last season.
The Italian club side amassed 14 points after going unbeaten in the Europa League group stage, recording 4W, 2D, and 0L in six matches to finish on top of group D and earn themselves a spot in the round of 16.
Sporting and Atalanta have squared off against each other in the group stage of the competition this season. The Italian side claimed victory on enemy territory before holding their Portuguese counterparts to a draw on home turf.
Prediction
I’m tipping Atalanta to make home advantage count and come out on top of what is sure to be a keenly contested game.
Qarabag FK vs Bayer Leverkusen
1st Leg 2-2
How they got there
Qarabag qualified for the Europa League group stage by beating HJK and Olimpija Ljubljana in the third qualifying and play-off rounds respectively.
The Azerbaijani champions managed 10 points from six matches to finish second behind Bayer Leverkusen in Group H. Qarabag saw off FC Braga in the knockout play-offs with a 6-4 aggregate result.
Bayer Leverkusen qualified for this season’s UEFA Europa League group stages after finishing in sixth place last season in the Bundesliga.
The high-flying German side won all six of their group stage matches, amassing an impressive 18 points to finish top of their group and head straight to the round of 16.
Both teams met earlier in the group stage of this competition with Bayer Leverkusen emerging victorious in both matches.
Prediction
Will be a major shock if Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen don’t qualify with ease, even after the draw in Azerbaijan.
Marseille vs Villarreal
1st Leg 4-0
How they got there
Prediction
Olympique Marseille booked their place in the group stage of this season’s Europa League after finishing third in Ligue 1 last season.
The French side finished second behind Brighton in Group B, managing 11 points from six matches. In the knockout play-offs, Marseille faced Shakhtar Donetsk and emerged 5-3 aggregate winners to secure a round of 16 bout.
Villarreal qualified for the group stage of this season’s Europa League after a fifth-place finish in the La Liga last season.
The Spanish side topped Group F after a solid group stage campaign amassing 13 points from six matches to qualify for the round of 16.
Marseille and Villarreal are yet to play a competitive match against each other so this encounter will be the first of its kind.
Prediction
Marseille will progress, but will lose tonight.
AC Milan vs Slavia Praha
1st Leg 4-2
How they got there
AC Milan dropped down to the Europa League after failing to qualify from the ‘group of death’ in the Champions League.
In a group that included Paris Saint-Germain, Borussia Dortmund, and Newcastle, The Rossoneri fell short on goal difference despite their best efforts. They faced Rennes in the knockout play-offs and emerged victors with a 5-3 aggregate result.
Slavia Praha qualified for this season’s Europa League group stage after beating the likes of Dnipro-1 and Zorya Luhansk in the third qualifying round and the playoffs respectively.
The Czech club amassed an impressive 15 points to finish as group G winners and earn a spot in the round of 16.
Prediction
The return leg which is set to take place on March 14 is expected to be a formality for AC Milan.
