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Tag: Europa

  • Unbelievable, Barcelona crash out of Champions League, drop to Europa

    Unbelievable, Barcelona crash out of Champions League, drop to Europa

    Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League on Wednesday as their 3-0 defeat at Bayern Munich saw the Spanish giants fail to reach the last 16 for the first time in 18 years.

    Goals by Thomas Mueller and Leroy Sane gave Bayern a 2-0 half-time cushion in falling snow at the Allianz Arena, which was devoid of spectators due to high numbers of Covid-19 cases in Bavaria.

    Teenager Jamal Musiala grabbed Bayern’s third in the second half to seal Barcelona’s fate.

    Bayern, who also beat Barca 3-0 at the Camp Nou when the sides met last September, had already qualified for the knock-out stages as Group E winners.

    They now join Liverpool and Ajax with a perfect six victories from six games in the group stage.

    However, for the first time since the 2003/04 season, Barcelona will not be in the draw for the last 16.

    Benfica’s 2-0 win at home to Dynamo Kiev means Barcelona finish third and drop to the Europa League.

    It was almost eight years to the day since Bayern lost a home Champions League game in the group phase and the Bundesliga leaders were in no mood to be generous.

    Xavi Hernandez, 41, who took charge of struggling Barcelona four weeks ago, has now suffered back-to-back defeats after his first loss as head coach against Real Betis last weekend.

    Bayern were not even at full strength.

    With Joshua Kimmich quarantining after a positive Covid test and Leon Goretzka injured, 18-year-old Musiala played out of position alongside Corentin Tolisso in defensive midfield.

    Barcelona made a bright start but faded after losing Jordi Alba to injury with half an hour gone, just before Mueller headed Bayern into the lead.

    Robert Lewandowski found space on the left of the box and flicked a pass to Mueller whose looping header flew beyond the reach of Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

    It was a double blow to the Barca bench who had just learnt Benfica were 2-0 up against Dynamo.

    Things went from bad to worse for the Spanish visitors when Sane hit the net with a powerful long-range shot that deceived Ter Stegen.

    Sane should have put the result beyond doubt when Bayern attacked just after the break.

    Instead of tapping the ball into the empty net, he poked the ball into Ter Stegen’s grateful arms.

    Alphonso Davies, who also ran Barcelona ragged in Bayern’s historic 8-2 drubbing in the 2020 quarter-finals, again caused havoc down the left flank.

    The fleet-footed Canadian created Bayern’s third when he pulled the ball back for Musiala to tap home from close range on 62 minutes.

    With 20 minutes left and the contest effectively over, Bayern coach Julian Nagelsmann started taking off first-choice players.

    First to go were wingers Davies and Kingsley Coman.

    Then followed star striker Lewandowski and centre-back Niklas Suele, yet still Barcelona could not threaten Manuel Neuer in the Bayern goal.

  • Mourinho’s Roma suffer 6-1 defeat in Europa Conference League

    Mourinho’s Roma suffer 6-1 defeat in Europa Conference League

    Jose Mourinho suffered one of his biggest defeats of his coaching career as AS Roma stumbled to a shock 6-1 loss at Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League on Thursday night.

    Erik Botheim and Ola Solbakken scored twice each for the home side, who led 2-1 at halftime and ran rampant in the second period to stun the Italians.

    It was the first time in 1,008 games as a coach that a Mourinho side conceded six goals or more.

    He did rest a number of first-team regulars, perhaps in anticipation of a comfortable night, and was made to pay.

    “I decided to play with this line-up, so the responsibility is mine,” the 58-year-old Portuguese told reporters.

    “I did it with good intentions, to give an opportunity to those who work hard and to rotate the squad on a synthetic pitch in cold weather.

    “I never disguised the fact we were a squad with real limitations. We have 13 players who represent one team, the others are on a different level.

    “We lost against a team that showed more quality on the night. It’s that simple.”

    The defeat may not have been quite as painful for Mourinho as Real Madrid’s humiliating 5-0 loss to Barcelona in 2010.

    But Roma, who started the Europa Conference League with two wins, are now in second in the group on six points, one behind Bodo/Glimt.

  • Europa: West Ham ease to third successive win, Napoli sink Legia

    Europa: West Ham ease to third successive win, Napoli sink Legia

    West Ham United moved closer to the Europa League knockout stage as goals from Craig Dawson, Issa Diop and Jarrod Bowen secured a 3-0 home win over Belgium’s Genk on Thursday night.

    The result meant the English Premier League side continued their perfect start in Group H.

    West Ham top the standings on nine points ahead of Dinamo Zagreb, Rapid Vienna and Genk who have three each, after the London side kept a third successive clean sheet in Europe’s second-tier competition.

    Dawson fired West Ham ahead with a looping header on the stroke of halftime and Diop made it 2-0 from a second assist by Aaron Cresswell before Bowen added the third with a deflected shot on the hour.

    Napoli kept alive their hopes of advancing from Group C after Lorenzo Insigne, Victor Osimhen and Matteo Politano secured a 3-0 home win over Legia Warsaw.

    Legia stayed top with six points from three games while Napoli and Leicester City, who enjoyed a rollercoaster 4-3 win at Spartak Moscow on Wednesday, have four each. Fourth-placed Spartak have three points.

    Insigne fired Napoli ahead in the 75th minute with a superb first-time shot before in-form Osimhen netted his ninth goal of the season in all competitions and Politano sealed the win with a long-range strike.

    Olympique Lyonnais maintained their perfect start in Group A as they overturned a two-goal deficit for a 4-3 win at Sparta Prague, who took a 2-0 lead thanks to a first-half brace from Lukas Haraslin.

    Lyon hit back as Karl Toko Ekambi scored twice while Houssem Aouar and Lucas Paqueta added one each before Ladislav Krejci pulled one back in stoppage time.

    Lyon stayed top on nine points ahead of Sparta on four and Rangers, who have three after beating Brondby 2-0 at home thanks to first-half goals from Leon Balgoun and Kemar Roofe.

    In Group D, Eintracht Frankfurt leapt into pole position on seven points, one ahead of Olympiakos after a 3-1 home win over the Greek side.

    Both teams are well-placed to progress as third-placed Fenerbahce have two points and Royal Antwerp one after their 2-2 draw.

    Monaco went top of Group B on seven points from three games with a 2-1 win at PSV Eindhoven and Real Sociedad are two points behind after a 1-0 victory at Sturm Graz.

  • Losing at Leicester would’ve been unjust – Napoli coach

    Losing at Leicester would’ve been unjust – Napoli coach

    Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti was delighted with his players after their 2-2 draw at Europa League opponents Leicester City.

    The Foxes were 2-0 ahead before Victor Osimhen struck twice to earn the point.

    “The team started the right way, then lost the ball a few too many times building out from the back and those proved costly,” Spalletti told Sky Italia.

    “After that, we took the initiative throughout and it remained a perfectly balanced match. We reacted to conceding the second goal just as we were really pushing, and that was a risky situation, because we could’ve let our heads drop.

    “Instead, we pushed even harder and got it back on level terms, because it frankly would’ve been unjust if we had lost this game.

    “We saw today that this team has a strong character, which had been a weakness in previous years. The team reacted really well.

    “I want to compliment those who came off the bench, because they proved their quality and it makes it easier for everyone, because they are not fighting to take the place of another teammate, but to play alongside him.”

    Spalletti added: “Osimhen still has a few things to learn and then he will become a super hitman. Comparisons are easy, but would be with some of the best forwards in the world.

    “He needs to improve in the precision of his choices, both his finishing and the runs, because at times he runs for no reason.”

  • Europa: Victor Osimhen grabs brace in Napoli draw at Leicester

    Europa: Victor Osimhen grabs brace in Napoli draw at Leicester

    Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen denied Leicester the perfect start in the Europa League as Napoli hit back from 2-0 down to snatch a point.

    The striker struck twice in the second half as the visitors deservedly grabbed a 2-2 draw in Group C at the King Power Stadium.

    Ayoze Perez’s first goal since March and Harvey Barnes’ second-half goal gave the Foxes a commanding lead.

    But Osimhen grabbed a classy lifeline for the visitors and then headed in a late leveller, with Leicester’s frustrations compounded when Wilfred Ndidi was sent off in injury time.

    Police and stewards had to control a disturbance between the home and travelling fans at full time with missiles thrown between supporters.

    Napoli controlled much of the game and were almost left to rue several missed chances with Osimhen, Hirving Lozano, Piotr Zielinski and Kevin Malcuit all wasteful in the first half.

    The Foxes – who only introduced Jamie Vardy as a late substitute – go to Legia Warsaw, who won at Spartak Moscow on Wednesday, in two weeks.

    In another encounter also played on Thursday, Steven Gerrard’s 50th European tie as Rangers boss ended in a 2-0 Europa League defeat by Lyon at Ibrox.

    Cameroon international Karl Toko Ekambi fired in a terrific opener for the French side after 22 minutes of the Group A opener in Govan.

    The Scottish champions had come close on a few occasions in the first half but in the 55th minute Gers skipper James Tavernier put through his own goal trying to stop a close-range shot from Islam Slimani.

    Despite a huge effort from the home side, it was too big a lead to claw back.

  • Europa: We deserved to win – Villarreal coach

    Europa: We deserved to win – Villarreal coach

    Villarreal coach Unai Emery was delighted for the players after winning the Europa League.

    Villarreal defeated Manchester United on penalties after the score had finished 1-1.

    Afterwards, Emery said: “I am very happy. These players have worked very hard through the season, for the president, the owner, the chairman. We are very proud of Villarreal. I think we deserved to win. It was Manchester United but we played a very competitive match tonight.

    “This club has played in the UCL and we are going to enjoy this competition.

    “I want to win the Europa League but I want to play in the Champions League. We will enjoy this moment with our supporters and our families tomorrow.”

  • Europa: How we intend to upset Man Utd – Emery

    Europa: How we intend to upset Man Utd – Emery

    Villarreal coach Unai Emery is very proud to have guided the club to the Europa League final.

    Villarreal meet Manchester United on Wednesday night in Gdansk.

    He told Marca: “If I feel proud of something in this final, it is breaking that barrier, it is managing to bring that excitement to Villarreal, to take Villarreal past the semi-finals after experiencing so much frustration. Always placing a lot of value on what the club had achieved before, but breaking another barrier.

    “Having said that, the objective of both myself and the club has to be: ‘We made it, but we cannot stay here, we must keep improving,’ and that is also very difficult, but those are the challenges.

    “In a final of 90 minutes, of 120 minutes or penalties, a lot of things can happen. There will be moments for Manchester United, there will be moments for Villarreal, let’s see who makes the most of them. How many moments will Manchester United or Villarreal have? Normally, United will have more and we have to work to ensure that they don’t have more. And ater, it is about being capable of taking advantage of your moments. Normally the favourite wins?

    “Yes. That is reality, but we are going to try with our options, with confidence and a lot of security. “

  • Arsenal players hurting from Europa exit – Arteta

    Arsenal players hurting from Europa exit – Arteta

    Mikel Arteta says Arsenal are using the pain of their Europa League semi-final to Villarreal as motivation.

    The Gunners have won straight Premier League matches since falling to Unai Emery’s side.

    “After, you have to win the football matches to prove that you have reacted as a team,” Arteta said of the reaction to Villarreal after Wednesday’s win over Crystal Palace.

    “But the reaction, and the pain in that dressing room, it still hurts. And I think that is what we are using in the final games to show everybody, and show ourselves, that we could have done better but we are not going to give up.

    “And we want to challenge to the last day to give ourselves the chance to be back in Europe, and they have the opportunity again to go.”

  • ‘I can still do this job’, Arteta insists after Europa setback

    ‘I can still do this job’, Arteta insists after Europa setback

    Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta still believes he is the right man for the job.

    The Gunners are out of the Europa League at the semi final stage, drawing 0-0 with Villarreal at home and going out 2-1 on aggregate.

    The result means Arsenal will be without European football next season for the first time since the 1995-1996 campaign.

    Arsenal are ninth in the Premier League, out of all the domestic cups, and now out of the Europa League as well.

    When asked post-game by reporters if he was still up for the job, Arteta said: “Yes.”

    He went on to say: “I wouldn’t be sitting here if I didn’t [think I could].

    “You will see it. It is not about talking, it is about showing it on the pitch.”

  • Europa: We deserve to face Man Utd in final – Emery

    Europa: We deserve to face Man Utd in final – Emery

    Villarreal coach Unai Emery was delighted with their 0-0 at Arsenal as they reach the Europa League final.

    The stalemate sees the Yellow Submarine reach the final 2-1 on aggregate.

    Emery said, “We are very proud because Arsenal are a very good team and we worked tonight, as well as in the first leg, and deserved to go through. We made a very serious match, my players constantly helping each other.

    “We worked hard today, defended really well.

    “Then sometimes we controlled parts of the match with possession. The best chances to score… I’d admit Arsenal had. I know it’s going to be difficult against United but today we enjoy the moment. We deserve to play them and we will show our supporters our best performance.”

    Villarreal will meet Manchester United in the final in Gdansk on May 26.