Topic: UEFA Europa League 2023/24 Season - page 110. (Read 58896 times)

Even though in football anything can still happen, if you look at how Bayer Leverkusen continues to win every match they face this season, it proves that Leverkusen has not given up on continuing to hunt for victory and refuses to be defeated by any team. So AS Roma's position in the second leg which will take place at Leverkusen's home ground will be a little difficult because Leverkusen will not allow themselves to lose at home. Moreover, the second leg will determine their progress to the final round of the Europa League this season.

French Ligue 1 club Marseille failed to win in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League semi final encounter against Italian Serie A club Atalanta but was able to get a draw against them and will now travel to the home of Atalanta to play in the second leg of the tie. A lot of people are of the opinion that since Atalanta will be playing the second leg at home, they stand a better chance of progressing to the final ahead of their French opponents of which I also think same but I wouldn't want anyone to write off Marseille from getting a win in that particular game.
Marseille I think have the strength and capability of stealing an away in that game or better still stop the home team from winning the game so they can force it to a penalty shoot-out whereby any team can be able to win the shoot-out and qualify to the final of the competition.

Leverkusen has the pass to the final in his pocket or bag, because the first game was a solid win in Rome, and for what i see in the develop of the game Rome cant find a path to make damage in the Leverkusen defense.

So i cant see Rome making any goals in german soil, but lets see this is football and everything can happen.

Atalanta look quite favourite from now on. Actually the first leg ended up with a draw but they are still seen very close to the finale by bookmakers as well. Their eliminating Liverpool must have been really effective about these odds too though. That was such a huge victory achieved by Atalanta and we couldn't believe our eyes.  

Marseille have a new manager. They started really good first but not much time later their form started to drop again. At least in the Ligue 1. But here in the Europa League I can say they are better. Their comeback against Benfica in the previous round was impressive. But will they reach the finale? I don't think so.

I would mostly agree with you, but think about one early goal for Roma and the situation could be different. If everything goes according to plan, I am sure that Leverkusen would destroy Roma, but they still have the possibility to get lucky. All of the unexpected things aside, Leverkusen deserves the victory. I think this is one of the craziest seasons ever played by a football team. The consistency is insane. They deliver, and deliver, and deliver... And you know that I could write this a dozen, two dozens of times. Winning away from home against Roma like that was impressive.

Atalanta's chances are much more open than Marseille's, so it's very likely that they will be in the final in my opinion. In the first leg, a draw gave them an advantage, because they were able to hold Marseille to a draw when playing at home, now it is their turn to play at home. I think a draw in the first leg was their target and they succeeded in getting it.

But of course Atalanta must play well, lest they lose focus which will make them lose later. Focus or concentration is something that must be strictly maintained when in the field, because if they don't have good concentration, then they are at risk of making fatal mistakes. We have seen many players crumble because they made fatal mistakes in the decisive round. What still sticks in my memory is the career of Liverpool goalkeeper Karius. Yes, he made a fatal mistake when playing in the Champions League against Real Madrid.

Now they just have to do their best with the ultimate goal of a treble in sight and it would be great if they got that this time.
Roma leg 2 seems hopeless and it is likely that Lverkusen to the final besides that the DFB can also be said to be almost certainly theirs although there must be resistance but with the dominance shown by Leverkusen at this time and the high spirits of the players then surely this will also affect and I am still quite sure they can get the DFB.

So instead of thinking about next season they just need to continue what they think is good because until now they are still beyond the expectations of many people and with this it should make them realize that next season will be even more difficult so they just have to be compact and the chemistry must be maintained so that they stay on a good track.

As for next season in the Champions League we'll also have to see how many players Xabi can keep in this transfer window. With Leverkusen's outstanding performance, it is certain that there will be several players targeted by big clubs from Leverkusen so that this can affect the performance in the end which makes us unable to speculate much before seeing Xabi's playing pattern next season, only 1 thing is certain that next season's expectations for Leverkusen will definitely be greater than this season.

Atalanta certainly doesn't want their players to be drained of energy until the Extra Time round, the advantage of playing at home will be used to get tickets to the final round. I'm not really sure that Marseille will be able to bring the score back to a draw at Atalanta's headquarters, even though Liverpool beat Atalanta at their headquarters, but the goals scored by Liverpool were still less in aggregate (3-1). Atalanta always plays with a winning mentality in important matches, the 4-1 victory over Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia semi-finals indicates they will not waste opportunities to score goals to progress to the next round.

Atalanta is superior in terms of mentality compared to Marseille because they were able to beat a big team like Liverpool even though they played at Anfield. This match will be difficult for Marseille because Atalanta has always managed to score goals in the last four matches. One thing I doubt is that if Atalanta progresses to the final and in another match Leverkusen manages to get rid of Roma, Atalanta will experience difficulties when facing Leverkusen because Leverkusen's mentality and consistency in maintaining their performance is better than theirs.

Playing at home certainly makes Atlanta favored in the second leg match later, but still we cannot underestimate Marseille who do have a good chance to qualify for the final, a draw in the first leg of course makes marseille only need to score 1 goal later and defend in total maybe they will do after getting the goal,  After beating Liverpool, of course, Atlanta is one of the favorites to win the Europa League this season, but honestly if you look at the first leg match last week, of course it is difficult for us to say Atlanta can easily win in the second leg later because indeed when Marseille defends it seems that Atlanta attackers are very difficult to break into their defense like in the first leg.

I personally do favorite Atlanta to be able to go to the final and meet Leverkusen, but I also don't want to underestimate Marseille in the second leg which might surprise Atlanta, Marseille certainly come into the game with high motivation and mentality to be able to win the second leg and of course Atlanta should be wary of it.

Atalanta will be playing at home and that is a good advantage on their side over their visitors. In the first leg, Atalanta was able to score first away from home before their host Marseille equalized the goal. This shows that Atalanta can score this time again and will be able to defend their goals till the end of 90 minutes.

Atalanta is currently in a good form as they have reached far in two competitions showing their quality and seriousness of winning a trophy this season. Marseille can also survive through to the finals if they can come up with surprises on that day, because this season is a surprising season so far.

It's very hard to guess which club that will be performing even better in the upcoming game. They are all equal, i meant about atalanta vs marseille. I will not even underestimate the club that came from the famer league like league one.

Atalanta @ 1.76
Marseille @ 4.70

Atalanta being favored to win the game soon. It's not surprising me since i have seen that how atalanta was also leading the outright odds after leverkusen. The won against liverpool has been also building an opinion if atalanta was even stronger compared to the roma and marseilla.
The club is now getting ez opponent. I strongly believe atalanta may be winning the next game with huge scores.

Everything is still unpredictable in the football. that's why speculation is always there in order to increase our chance to get the right choice about that. I think atalanta will be showing offensive performance in the upcoming game. Atalanta's strategy was very dynamic and it totally depends on the situation faced by the club.
Atalanta was fully defensive against liverpool.

Even when playing at home, AS Roma was unable to beat Bayer Leverkusen, the hosts were not even able to score a goal at all so there is very little hope that AS Roma can beat Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg if they don't have luck, Bayer Leverkusen gets a red card then AS Roma can take advantage of that, remembering when PSG had the luck to beat Barcelona away from home even though previously PSG had beaten Barca at home, so I think AS Roma still has a chance if that mistake really happens.

Apart from seeing AS Roma and Bayer Leverkusen, Atalanta's match with Marseille is actually no less interesting because both clubs still have the same chance of advancing to the final because in the first meeting they achieved a draw, but I think Atalanta is a little more convincing because they were previously able to beat Whether Liverpool is a coincidence or not, what is clear is that UEL always presents unexpected surprises.

Marseille difficulty in securing tickets to play in European competitions through Ligue 1 could motivate them to beat Atalanta in the second leg. Even though we realize that it is not an easy job to do, who knows, Marseille will have greater luck. On paper, Atalanta deserves to be the favorite, because after all Atalanta acted as host, they also managed to get rid of Liverpool, who were the favorite team to win. In my opinion, Atalanta will face Leverkusen in the final, and it is possible that the winner in the Atalanta versus Marseille match will have to be determined through a penalty shootout. Meanwhile, on the other hand, it would be a big surprise if Leverkusen failed to win this season, considering that they have a very impressive reputation this season. Xabi Alonso and his squad are already one step into the final, they can relax regarding the second leg match later.

The second leg will of course be a difficult match for Marseille, because indeed Atlanta has been very difficult to beat if they play at home, especially in the Europa League so far, a draw will certainly motivate Atlanta to be able to win in the second leg later, for now besides Leverkusen of course Atlanta is one of the favorites to get into the Europa League final this season,  I think when Atlanta can dominate the game at   Marseille home in the first leg, of course it will not be difficult for Atlanta to do the same at their own home later, in the first leg Atlanta wasted a lot of chances so I think in the second leg they should be able to play effectively in finishing the chances that are there to score.

Atlanta mentality when beating Liverpool is certainly our reference to make them favorites to face Leverkusen in the final round later, but even so we also cannot deny if maybe Marseille will give an unexpected surprise because indeed their position in Ligue 1 is currently also in a difficult condition to end the season in the Europa League.   

You make a good point. Things get crazy when there is extra time and penalties. These players must be under a lot of mental stress. To be honest, Atalanta has the upper hand here. They've been very consistent in Serie A, which is a tougher game than Ligue 1. Not only that, but remember that Atalanta beat Liverpool. That tells you how well they do in public. A lead of two goals for Atalanta? Marseille's time is pretty much up. We'd all love a clean win in normal time, of course. Even with the best players in the world, penalties are too random.

Of course, the improvement on Leverkusen squad is a must because they will experience a harder season. In the next season, Bayern Munich and other teams will improve their squads, too. If Xabi Alonso never improves the squad, Leverkusen will be difficult to maintain their good performance. Sure, every team will try to beat Leverkusen in the next season, they will be more careful because they know Leverkusen is a very strong team. Leverkusen players also must face the challenge on their mentality, they must be able to control their ego in each match. The players of Leverkusen must avoid to play too confident and underestimate other teams. If they do this, Leverkusen will begin to have bad season.

Indeed. Playing in UCL will be different than playing in UEL. UCL is the highest football competition because it is a place for the best teams in each top league in the world. Xabi must be aware to improve the quality of Leverkusen squad. Sure, the solution is signing some new players with good experience in the top competitions. Osimhen can be a good option for Leverkusen striker besides using Victor Boniface as their main striker now. Xabi Alonso also needs better wingers, it is needed to support the striker. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is a good option, he is the partner of Osimhen in Napoli. This will be interesting if Xabi really signs them.  



Source: BRfootball

The draw in the first leg is slightly profitable for Atalanta because in the second leg they will play at home, which of course creates a big advantage for Atalanta to be able to win.
Now the pressure is on the Marseille team even though they still have the potential to win in the second leg, but I think it will be quite difficult.

Atalanta's victory over Liverpool had quite a big influence on the mentality and confidence of the Atalanta team and that cannot be denied because after this victory we could see that the strength or performance of the Atalanta team continued to increase and this was also seen in matches in the domestic league.
And because of that, Atalanta is now quite the favorite to advance to the final.

Yes, it's true that Atalanta have fought hard up to this point by beating Liverpool as the strongest team in the UEL, but in the end, when they met in the first leg, they only drew 1 - 1 with Marseille, of course that was a question mark, the strength of the two teams turned out to be equal, there is no doubt that Both of them are equally strong and confident in wanting to qualify for the UEL final, playing at Atalanta's home ground might be Atalanta's opportunity to play in front of all their supporters, at least they will have more enthusiasm to play as hard as possible when facing Marseille in the second leg.

I hope Leverkusen will meet Atalanta in the final because of course As Roma will not succeed in tackling Leverkusen in the second leg, Xabi Alonso will definitely not let As Roma beat Leverkusen in the second leg, Atalanta will definitely play better than the first leg. and Marseille could also get another surprise from Atalanta in the second leg match later, my prediction is that maybe Atalanta will win narrowly at home against Marseille in the second leg match because of course Atalanta has learned a lot from the previous first leg match. 

It's very possible Atalanta get to win Marseille because I understand that they are now looking even more determined than they have been before because they have been able to crack the aspect of the league that seemed most difficult for them which was the fixture against Liverpool, Marseille is looking like an equal strength team with them, I'm not expecting anything in particular but the fact that anything can happen is always on my mind in the sense that they are both of relatively equal strength.

Atlanta having the hosting advantage should be enough for them to stay ahead just like they did with Liverpool which got them to the semi finals where they are now getting to face Marseille. They could use the same tactical approach to face this game and they can be sure to be able to get to the finals in that if they eventually get to win with a very broad margin in this meeting they are sure they are going to make it to the finals of the Europa and if they happen to meet Leverkusen even if they don't get to win the trophy, getting to the finals is an achievement already for them.

Marseille will aswell try their own possible best because they too ain't a weak team to have been able to have gotten to this point and I was thinking they would have been removed sometimes in the quarter finals but they made it to the semi finals which could mean they aren't a small team either and so Atlanta should look out for the chance that they may be able to want to utilize opportunities if it does come their way.

Atalanta nearly repeat what they did with Liverpool last week by winning in a first leg in a home away match. Finally the host Marseille managed to score a goal and equalized the first match. Two clubs will start a second semi final with no advantage in result but Atalanta will have advantage from their home stadium.

I believe it is a good enough advantage for Atalanta to beat Marseille because recently Atalanta have very destroying form and their shock winning against Liverpool is a strong warning to any team have to play with Atalanta at this moment. Marseille don't have too good form to be a fair competitor with Atalanta and I really don't believe they will be able to beat Atalanta in Bergamo even won't be able to pull Atalanta to penalty shootouts.