The unexpected failure of Dynamo Kiev and a sensation from APOEL

The final round of the group stage of the Europa League was rich in sensation. One of the high-profile events took place in Quartet A, where APOEL interrupted the five-match winning streak of Seville. Guest mentor Julen Lopetegui took almost all the leaders to Nicosia, but even this did not help to succeed.

And this despite the fact that in the 57th minute the guests had a good chance to excel. The referee Nikola Dabanovich pointed to the “point” in the penalty box of the opponent, but Munas Dabbur was not able to realize the 11-meter. And after four minutes, one of the oldest rules of football played. Vuyadin Savich scored his first goal in the current tournament draw and helped APOEL strengthen in second place.

In a parallel match, “Karabakh” again failed to please its fans, losing points in the fourth meeting in a row. Already in the debut of the second half, the Azerbaijanis were in the minority, and in the middle they were catching up. Dudelange was leading up to 91 minutes, but Magaye Geye managed to save the hosts from a third defeat in a row.

Also, the fight for trips to the playoffs in group B unexpectedly ended. During the tour until the end, Malmö was one point behind Copenhagen and two ahead of Dynamo Kyiv. But, if the Swedes had a difficult trip to the leader, then the Ukrainians had a meeting with an outsider in the person of Lugano. However, Uwe Rösler's wards created a sensation and prevailed over the Danes. It is all the more remarkable that the author of the only goal was the defender of the hosts Sataris Papayannopoulos, who cut the ball into his own goal.

Nevertheless, even this result left Dynamo chances of reaching the 1/16 finals of the Europa League. It was enough for the Kyivans to beat their counterparts with a minimal difference, but it was not their day. Of the 30 shots on goal, only five reached the target, and the only goal was scored in the fourth compensated minute. True, the goal of Viktor Tsygankov allowed only to even the score and avoid defeat.

With a minus sign, Lazio was also surprised. The Italian grand was in a difficult situation and was forced not only to beat the outsider of the Rennes group, but also to hope for the defeat of Cluj in a duel with Celtic. As a result, neither one nor the other happened. The Romanians successfully performed in their native stadium and shipped two unanswered goals to the opponent, while the “biancheloles” lost the same difference. Double marked defender Joris Nyanon.

MJ's crushing victories with Wolverhampton and the salvation of Arsenal

English clubs, in contrast, were more than confident. So, Manchester United and Wolverhampton left no stone unturned from AZ and Besiktas, respectively. The teams from Misty Albion scored four unanswered goals and guaranteed themselves to continue the fight in European competitions.

It is noteworthy that the "red devils" and the "wolves" took only 11 minutes to arrange a crushing victory. The Mankunians differed from 53rd to 64th minute, and players from the West Midland from 57th to 68th. Ashley Young, Juan Mata and Leandro Dendonker scored the goal, Mason Greenwood became the youngest author of the double as part of the United (18 years 72 days), and the main character’s laurels went to Dioge Jota. The Portuguese chalked up the fastest hat-trick in the Europa League over the past five years. In 2014, Claudi Kesher took four seconds less (10:56).

Unlike compatriots, Arsenal could not win another victory and took only one point in the confrontation with Standard. Moreover, in the middle of the second half, the wards of Freddy Jungberg were inferior with a difference of two goals, but were able to make a comeback. With a difference of three minutes, Alexander Lacazette and Bukayo Saka upset Arno Bodara and helped the “gunners” to take first place.

The fiasco of Borussia and the luck of Eintracht

As it turned out, the heroic salvation of Arsenal helped Eintracht to keep second place in the standings of Quartet F. To secure participation in the playoffs, Adolf Hutter's squad had enough to deal with Vitoria at home, but it unexpectedly showed an unbending character. The Portuguese opened an account already in the debut, but by the end of the half were in the role of catching up. The eagles responded to Rosinha's exact shot with goals from Danny da Costa and Daiti Kamada.

Everything went to the fourth victory of the Frankfurt group, but in the 85th minute Mohamed Ali Al-Moatasembella regained parity, and two minutes later Marcus Edwards set the final result. Eintracht was left with nine points and only one ahead of the Standard.

Unlike compatriots, the leader of the German Bundesliga was much less fortunate. Before the final round, Borussia from Monchengladbach together with Roma was the leader in group J, and to win a ticket to the 1/16 finals, it was enough for her to draw in a duel with Istanbul Bashaksehir. And at the end of the first half, everything confidently went to this. But Marc Thuram led the hosts ahead, but Irfan Jan Kaveci restored parity.

Units burned on the scoreboard until the 90th minute, when the Turks got the right to a standard position 30 meters from the gate of Jan Sommer. It was not possible to close the pitch right away, but after a few seconds the ball was at Enzo Crivelli. He did not blunder and not only brought Bashaksehir three points, but also brought him to the playoffs of the competition.

Thus, only two clubs made it from Germany to the 1/16 finals. Eintracht was made up of Wolfsburg, who finished second in Quartet I. In the final round, Oliver Glasner's wards barely outplayed Saint-Etienne. Sensationally higher was the "Gent", which prevailed over the Ukrainian "Alexandria".

The failure of the Dutch and the success of Morelos

Meanwhile, the representative of the Netherlands in the 1/16 finals was limited to one team. They became the aforementioned AZ, which was not even prevented by the defeat at Old Trafford. At the same time, PSV and Feyenoord took third and fourth places in their quartets, respectively, and can now focus on the Eredivisi. Moreover, if the team of Mark van Bommel was able to achieve a draw with Rosenborg, the squad of Dick Advocaat suffered a disappointing defeat from Porto.

On "Dragau" events developed more than rapidly. Only 108 seconds were enough for the hosts to lead with a goal difference of two goals - Luis Diaz opened the scoring, and Tyrell Malasia's own goal helped to double his advantage. But after seven minutes the situation evened out thanks to the goals of Eric Bottegin and Sam Larsson. However, the "dragons" did not break down and very soon pulled out a victory. Tikinho struck out of the box, and goalkeeper Nick Marsman played extremely uncertainly.

The second line went to the Rangers, who in the last round of the house could not defeat Young Boys. Teams once hit each other's gates, and ended the meeting in unequal compositions. In the 93rd minute for the second yellow card, the hosts midfielder Ryan Jack was removed. At the same time, another goal by Alfredo Morelos became a cause for joy. The Colombian scored the sixth goal in the Europa League and became the top scorer in the group stage of the championship.

Like Porto, Braga confidently completed the stage and led Group K, while Sporting was unable to confirm its claim to first place. So, Leonel Ponteš wards unexpectedly lost a lot to the Austrian LASK and remained on the second line. The match ended 3-0 in favor of the hosts, and the guests spent more than half time in the minority. At the 34th minute, a direct red card was given to Renan Ribeiro.

Draws ahead of the draw

As early as December 16, future rivals for the 1/16 finals of the Europa League will be determined at UEFA headquarters in Nyon. All 32 participants will be divided into two baskets, one of which will include 12 winners of their quartets and four seeded teams from the Champions League. It is her representatives who will have a slight advantage over their counterparts and will hold a return match in their field.

So, in the basket of seeded will be the triumphs of the Europa League groups: Sevilla, Malmo, Basel, LASK, Celtic, Arsenal, Porto, Hispaniol, Gent, Istanbul Bashaksehir, Braga ”and“ Manchester United ”, as well as the four best teams from the Champions League:“ Ajax ”,“ Salzburg ”,“ Inter ”and“ Benfica ”.

APOEL, Copenhagen, Getafe, Sporting, Cluj, Eintracht, Rangers, Ludogorets, Wolfsburg, Roma, Wolverhampton, AZ, and also Bayer, Club Brugge, Olympiacos and Shakhtar.

It is worth noting that in the first round of the playoffs, duels between ex-opponents in the Europa League group, as well as between countries from one country, are excluded.