Kraljevi Kvota - Europa League 8th round review
Last night's matches ended the group stage of the Europa League, with eight clubs securing direct placement in the round of 16, and 16 teams seeking passage to the round of 16 through the playoffs. You can follow all events within the Europa League on our website and Instagram account, which are described below.
Ajax beat Galatasaray 2:1 at the crowded Johan Cruyff Arena. Both teams finished the competition with 13 points and secured the playoff, where they will wait for their next rivals to advance to the round of 16.
Anderlecht and Hoffenheim played a great match with seven goals scored which the guest won 4:3. The home team took the lead and the visitors equalized by halftime, and then in 10 minutes in the second part of the game, they scored three more goals and took the lead with 4:1. The home team scored two goals until the end but failed to avoid defeat. However, this victory meant nothing to Hoffenheim because they failed to qualify for the playoffs, while Anderlecht missed the opportunity to qualify directly for the round of 16.
Roma defeated Eintracht Frankfurt at the Olympic Games and thus secured participation in the playoffs. Frankfurt remained on 16 points, but took fifth place and went directly to the round of 16.
As expected, Athletic Bilbao beat Plzen 3:1 at San Mames, with a red card from the guests, and thus reached the second place in the table, and with a total of 19 points secured passage to the round of 16. Pilsen remained at 12 points, which is enough for participation in the playoffs.
Braga took the lead against Lazio at home in the sixth minute, but it turned out to be the final score, which did not help the Portuguese as they were eliminated from the competition due to a goal difference from Fenerbahce, only one goal separated them. Lazio remained first in the table even though they lost, and went directly to the round of 16.
Dinamo Kyiv achieved a minimum victory of 1:0 against RFS in Hamburg. The Ukrainians thus avoided being placed last, and even before the match, it was clear that both of them were eliminated from further competition.
With goals in the second half, Manchester United achieved a 2:0 victory in Bucharest against FCSB, scoring 18 points, which earned them third place in the table and direct placement in the round of 16.
Ferencváros beat AZ Alkmaar 4:3 in a great game, thus overtaking the Dutch in the standings. The Hungarian representative reached 12 points, AZ remained at 11, and now both teams are in the playoffs.
Despite the draw against Ludogorets, Lyon remained in sixth place and qualified directly for the round of 16. The match ended 1:1, and this point didn't mean much to the guests, because they were already written off for further passage.
With a goal from Niko, Porto won 1:0 in Belgrade against Maccabi from Tel Aviv and thus reached 11 points and a place in the playoffs. The Israeli club finished the competition with six points.
Mitjiland and Fenerbahce played a very interesting match in which there was no winner. They shared the points in a 2:2 draw. The home team took the lead, only for Fener to convert and Mittjiland then set the final score. Both teams made it to the playoffs, and Fenerbahce did it with a lot of luck because the better goal difference decided in their favor.
Bodo led in Nice, but the home team managed to equalize, set the final score at 1:1, and put an end to the Norwegians' hopes of reaching the round of 16. This way they will have to get there through the playoffs. Nice finished its competition in the penultimate place of the table.
Olympiakos defeated Qarabag 3:0 with two goals from El Kabi and thus reached seventh place, which leads directly to the playoffs. Karabagh finished the competition as the last team in the table with 3 points, the same as Nice, but with a worse goal difference.
Rangers won 2:1 against Union SG at a packed Ibrox. This triumph brought the "Policemen" eighth place, the last one that led to a direct placement in the round of 16. They had 14 points, the same as Bodo, Anderlecht, and FCSB, but with the best goal difference. Union SG will seek a place in the round of 16 through the playoffs.
Real Sociedad beat PAOK 2:0 with Oskarson's goals and thus reached 13 points. Both teams managed to reach the playoffs.
In a non-competitive match, Slavia drew 2:2 against Malmo in Prague. The visitors missed a penalty in the first half, which ended goalless. Both of them finished the competition with five points each.
Elfsborg held on in London until the 70th minute, when Tottenham scored the first goal and by the end of the match two more for the final 3:0. "Singers" reached the fourth place in the table and secured a direct place in the round of 16. Elfsborg remained on 10 points, the same as PAOK, Twente, and Fenerbahce, who advanced to the playoffs due to a better goal difference.
Twente won the minimum of 1:0 at home against Besiktas, thus knocking them out of further competition and securing a playoff for themselves, in a direct fight for passage.
ZZ