The Europa League round of 16 kicks off tonight, with eight first-leg clashes taking place across the continent.
Follow the action here.
Roma v Athletic Club
Roma had the majority of possession in the opening half, but struggled to threaten the Athletic goal. Likewise, the LaLiga side had little in the way of openings as the two sides weighed each other up.
More to follow…
Ajax v Eintracht Frankfurt
Scorers: Brobbey 10′; Larsson 27′
Ajax needed just 10 minutes to open the scoring, Brian Brobbey heading home from close range after Frankfurt failed to deal with Jordan Henderson’s high looping cross.
The Bundesliga side rallied though, and began to dictate the play, making chances aplenty. They equalised in the 27th minute, with a smart free-kick giving Hugo Larsson time to crack one pas Jay Gorter with the aid of a big deflection off Brobbey.
Gorter had just entered the game, with first-choice keeper Remko Pasveer being forced off with an injury.
More to follow…
Bodø/Glimt v Olympiacos
Scorers: Tzolakis (OG) 13′, Høgh 45′
Bodø started the stronger, and took the lead in the 13th minute after the reigning Europa Conference League champions failed to deal with a corner, with the ball eventually bouncing off keeper Konstantinos Tzolakis and into the net.
The Norwegian side doubled their lead just before the break, Kasper Høgh finishing off a brilliant team move with a neat finish from little more than five yards out.
More to follow…
Plzeň v Lazio
Scorers: Romagnoli 18′
Lazio breathed a major sigh of relief in the 11th minute when Plzeň had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside. The Italian side failed to deal with a corner, and Pavel Šulc sent the home fans wild with a wonderful touch and volley past Ivan Provedal only for VAR to intervene.
Alessio Romagnoli then gave them the lead after the hosts also failed to deal with a corner, heading in from close range.
Gustav Isaksen almost doubled that lead just after the half hour, when Václav Jemelka under hit a back pass that the winger almost got onto. Plzeň had Martin Jedlička to thank for keeping them in the game.
More to follow…
Earlier
Sociedad battle back for draw with United
Scorers: Oyarzabal (pen) 70′; Zirkzee 57′
Manchester United and Ruben Amorim will rue a missed opportunity after throwing away a lead to draw 1-1 away to Real Sociedad.
The game got off to an even start, with United shading possession but having little to show for it.
Their first opening came after 13 minutes when Alejandro Garnacho fired straight at Alex Remiro at the end of a positive counter-attack.
Diogo Dalot had Rasmus Højlund exasperated shortly after, failing to simply put the ball across the box for the forward when in space.
United should have taken the lead minutes before the break, when Dalot finally did put a quick ball into his forwards. Bruno Fernandes and Joshua Zirkzee both saw their resulting shots brilliantly blocked by Aritz Elustondo.
Dalot, who had a very mixed first half, then got on the end of Fernandes’ floated ball, but couldn’t generate enough power on his header.
After the break, it was more of the same with United looking the far more likely to break the deadlock. Garnacho should have done better at the back post after Zirkzee and Dorgu combined well in the box.
They finally took the lead just before the hour through Zirkzee. Casemiro did very well to find Dalot on the break, who played the ball out right to Garnacho. The winger’s pullback for the Dutchman was perfectly waited, and he confidently struck home from the edge of the box.
Sociedad levelled from nowhere with 20 minutes left, Mikel Oyarzabal scoring from the spot after Fernandes was ruled to have handled the ball from a corner.
André Onana did well to turn Brais Méndez’s strike around his corner as the hosts sensed a winner. Orri Óskarsson should have grabbed it, poking wide from close range when a goal seemed inevitable.
Onana made another big save late on as United held on for a draw in a game they might have won, meaning it’s all to play for at Old Trafford next week.
Agony for Ange once again
Scorers: Bergvall (OG) 18′
Tottenham will have to come from behind to make the Europa League quarter finals, and keep their season alive, after falling to a desperate 1-0 loss at AZ.
Spurs dominated the ball in the opening periods, but the first half-chance went AZ’s way, Ernest Poku going close from a narrow angle.
The Dutch side took the lead in the 18th minute in a moment to forget for Lucas Bergvall. The young Swedish midfielder stuck a leg out at a corner and diverted the ball into his own net, slicing it over the arms of Guglielmo Vicario.
Spurs struggled to create much in the first half, with James Maddison’s failed short free kick from a good position summing up their fortunes.
After the break, Heung-min Son tried his best to get his side back in it, but fired wildly over after doing well to make space for himself.
That was about as close as Ange Postecoglou’s men came, with no shot on target across the 90 minutes, and their night of woe was added to when Dominic Solanke hobbled off minutes into his injury comeback.
Rangers enjoy dream night in Istanbul
Scorers: Djiku 30′; Dessers 6′, Černý 42′, 81′
Rangers and interim manager Barry Ferguson enjoyed a dream night in Istanbul, defeating José Mourinho’s Fenerbahçe 3-1 to put themselves within touching distance of the quarter finals.
The Gers got off to the perfect start, taking the lead inside six minutes. It was a mess at the back from Fener, allowing Cyriel Dessers to step in and squeeze the ball home. Çağlar Söyüncü tried to clear it but the ball just went over the line.
The hosts responded well, but could not convert with their chances to equalise. Youssef En-Nesyri put one over the bar from 12 yards out before Edin Džeko had a fierce low drive turned away by Jack Butland.
Fener got their equaliser on the half hour, Alexander Djiku brilliantly hooking the ball over Butland after a corner came his way at the back post.
Rangers regained the lead just before the break, and it was a fine goal from Václav Černý. The Czech winger played a lovely give and go before slotting home for his fifth goal in this season’s competition.
Dessers thought he had got his second, and his side’s third, on two occasions early into the second half, but VAR ruled out both of his strikers for slight offsides.
While he couldn’t get his second, Černý could, racing onto a brilliant pass from Nico Raskin to finish expertly and seal a famous win for the Scottish giants.
Lyon strike late to secure big win
Scorers: Băluță 68′; Tagliafico 30′, Fofana 86′, 89′
Lyon struck twice late on to seal a 3-1 win away to FCSB and put themselves in a fantastic position to qualify for the last eight.
After dominating the ball in the opening 30 minutes, Nicolás Tagliafico gave Lyon the lead with a fine goal.
Georges Mikautadze fashioned some space for himself on the left-hand side of the box, and teed up ball for the onrushing left-back to neatly head downwards into the net.
After the break, FCSB increased the pressure, and found an equaliser in the 68th minute. Lyon lost the ball, and the home side pushed on, with the ball finding its way to Băluță, who smashed home from close range.
The Ligue 1 side kicked on, and won the game, and maybe the tie, with two goals late on from Malick Fofana.
📸 MILAN KAMMERMAYER – AFP or licensors
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