After several interesting and vibrant confrontations, The Europa League, in Nyon, Switzerland, held the draw to define the pairings for the round of 16an instance in which the best of the group stage will meet face to face with the winners of the playoff crossovers between the second in the Europa League with the third in the Champions League zones.
Exequiel Palacios’ great goal that helped Bayer Leverkusen achieve a dramatic qualification in the Europa League
The world champion midfielder was a starter in the cast of Xabi Alonso, who beat Monaco on penalties and advanced to the round of 16 of the competition
The clubs that finished at the top of their zone were designated as seeded (they will define the key at home) and could not face teams from their own country, but they could face clubs with which they shared the group zone.
THE EIGHTH FINAL CROSSES*:
Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium) – Union Berlin (Germany)
Madness in the Europa League: a PSV supporter invaded the playing field and attacked the Sevilla goalkeeper
The intruder evaded the security of the stadium and confronted the Serbian Marko Dmitrovic, who defended himself and managed to reduce him. “I imagine also a bit crazy or drunk,” said the goalkeeper
Fenerbahçe (Turkey) – Seville (Spain)
Freiburg (Germany) – Juventus (Italy)
Manchester United defeated Barcelona 2-1 and advanced to the round of 16 of the Europa League
The Blaugrana had taken the lead through a Robert Lewandowski penalty, but Fred and Antony reversed the story at Old Trafford. At the Theater of Dreams, the British group gave a great show and advanced to the next stage of the international competition
Ferencváros (Hungary) – Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
Arsenal (England) – Sporting Lisbon (Portugal)
Real Betis (Spain) – Manchester United (England)
Real Sociedad (Spain) – Rome (Italy)
Feyenoord (Netherlands) – Shakhtar Donetsk (Ukraine)
Sevilla, currently led by the Argentine Jorge Sampaoli (within his squad he has his compatriots Marcos Acuña, Gonzalo Montiel, Lucas Ocampos, Papu Gómez and Erik Lamela), is the top winner of the competition with six titles. The Andalusians, after beating PSV, will face off against Fenerbahçe from Turkey.
Juventus, which has an Ángel Di María in a state of grace and Leandro Paredes, is another of the main contenders for the title despite its irregular progress in Serie A. After eliminating Nantes, they will face off against Freiburg in Germany. The Roma of José Mourinho and Paulo Dybala, for their part, will have a tough stumbling block when they face Real Sociedad of Spain.
They are also to highlight the two pairings of the England teams. Manchester United will have an interesting battle with Real Betis from Spain, while Arsenal, current leader of the Premier League, will clash against Sporting Lisboa from Portugal.
It is worth remembering that the leading teams are Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium), Fenerbahçe (Turkey), Freiburg (Germany), Ferencváros (Hungary), Arsenal (England), Real Betis (Spain), Real Sociedad (Spain) and Feyenoord (Netherlands).
* The round of 16 matches will take place on March 9 and 16; while the quarterfinals (will be drawn on March 17) will be played on April 13 and 20. The semifinals will be held from May 11 to 18 and the grand final will be on May 31 at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, Hungary.
The Conference League, the third most important competition at the European level, met this Friday the pairings of the round of 16. The draw was held in Nyon, Switzerland, after the Europa League ceremony.
At this stage of this incipient tournament (it will be its second edition -Rome of Italy was the first winner-) the eight winners in the group stage (they were the seeded ones) and the eight teams that surpassed the qualifying round of playoff (the second in the group stage against the third in the Europa League zones).
THE EIGHTH FINAL CROSSES*:
West Ham (England) – AEK Larnaca (Cyprus)
Sivasspor (Turkey) – Fiorentina (Italy)
AZ Alkmaar (Netherlands) – Lazio (Italy)
Djurgården (Sweden) – Lech Poznan (Poland)
Slovan Bratislava (Slovenia) – Basel (Switzerland)
Nice (France) – Sheriff Tiraspol (Moldova)
Villarreal (Spain) – Anderlecht (Belgium)
Istanbul Basaksehir (Turkey) – Gent (Belgium)
* The round of 16 matches will take place on March 9 and 16; while the quarterfinals (will be drawn on March 17) will be played on April 13 and 20. The semifinals will be held from May 11 to 18 and the grand final will be on June 7 at the Sinobo Stadium in Prague, Czech Republic.
Keep reading:
