Topic: ⚽UEFA Europa League Discussion Thread -- 2022/23 | Group Stages - page 11. (Read 15139 times)

Amazing scenes from the Europa league today. From Liverpool scoring 4 goals in the first 14 minutes of the match to Leverkusen vs Qarabaq delivering a deja vu performance today — Qarabaq with 2-goal leads before Leverkusen equalizes. It happened in Azerbaijan and tonight in Germany. I switched for a moment to watch Liverpool's match only to come back and meet leverkusen 2-0 down to Qarabaq. The last few minutes were really tough for Qarabaq with that insane Leverkusen press that forced them to concede 3 goals in the last 25 minutes. Amazing!


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Europa league was just great tonight. Qarabag is just crazy. After great 1st game I still didn't had any expectations that they can eliminate new Bundesliga champions. They almost did it, even scoring a goal with 1 men down. But Bayer survived in crazy way, with 2 goals by Shick on additional time. Such a heartbreak for Qarabag.
Had big expectations from Sporting and everything started positively, but it didn't ended well for them. At least Benfica justified my expectations and won some money from Benfica to qualify bet.
Villarreal were close from making comeback after loss 4:0 in first leg, but late goal of Marseille killed it.
After Liverpool scored 4 goals in 14 minutes it looked that final result will be inappropriate, but it ended just 6:1.

Yeah I was surprised to see the results of this match, unexpectedly Qarabag was able to score the first goal and the second goal even though playing with 10 players and when I wrote this post Leverkusen had scored 2 goals meaning aggregate 4-4 it is clear that Leverkusen's chances of winning are increasingly open whether through extra time or penalty rounds.

We have seen several teams already taking their places in the next round 2 teams from the Premier League and 3 teams from Serie A while the other 3 teams come from different leagues this means that this season's European League is dominated by Serie A but the favorite team comes from the Premier League, imo. Who is your favorite team to win this trophy? For me Liverpool is the main candidate.

Honestly, in the Leverkusen vs Qarabag match in both legs 1 and 2, Qarabag was actually the one that could play more effectively, than Leverkusen. Even in the first leg yesterday, they were like that. Unfortunately, this time, in the second leg, they had to lose one of their players due to a red card. This is quite risky for them. Even though they can actually excel with these weaknesses. Yes, Qarabag was indeed quite surprising, their effective play was quite impressive. They don't need a lot of ball possession, but they can optimize every chance they have. And it's very effective.

Who knows what Xabi was thinking, some of their main players were not in the starting eleven. Maybe it's related to the condition of the players or something else. But really, this actually harms them. In fact, they seemed very underpowered to overcome Qarabag's attacks, who were only playing with 10 players. what they currently hope is a draw, so they can take penalty shoots. However, is it possible? If Qarabag can be this good, it will be very difficult for Leverkusen to score again. But hopefully they really can.

Qarabag had a chance to score and they took it, got the first goal but unfortunately for them they lost one player in the process reducing their number to 10 on the field. They didn't stop there though as they were also able to score a second goal even with the 10 men they had to increase the fear that the supporters of the home team have of having their first loss of the season in an important game like this. There is still some time in the game, Bayer Leverkusen have been able to score one, they can score a late goal like they did in the first leg to send this game to extra time.

What is this? Will Leverkusen give up in the round of 16 this time.
They played against 10 men but it was they who struggled to make a victory to take them to the next round in the Europa League this time even they had to fall behind 2 goals first.

It would be regrettable if this result is maintained until the end of the match because apart from them failing to qualify for the next phase, Xabi record for matches without defeat must also end at the hands of Qarabag which we never expected because after all this should be able to win well.
The match entered crucial time but Leverkusen were still troubled by Qarabag's solid defense but there was still time for them to make a good comeback but Xabi had to try everything in the remaining time this time.

Yeah, not that I'm complaining but once Salah made it 3-0 on ten minutes, it was no longer a spectacle, would have switched off if I weren't a fan. So good to see Alisson on the bench as well, not that Kelleher will want to warm it up any time soon! Have to feel sorry for Nunez, taken off on the first leg on the verge of a hattrick, and then again when he clearly has more in him. Pretty crazy Salah and Szobo still staying on the field with 11-2 aggregate..!

Didn't think West Ham would have such an easy time, either... what on earth has happened to my beloved Freiburg?

Edit: What the Qarabaq is happening?!

Shame. It's already been a decade of gegenpressing and wide attacks, high-line defence and long seeking balls. I love it, of course, even from my days of playing Winning Eleven, I'd 4-4-3 the heck out of teams and just press constantly. I suppose you could call me the visionary of digital football heh.

I have watched a bit of Leverkusen and it's not displeasing football. Be nice to see Bundesliga adopt it if Alonso sticks to it -- and continues to win -- next season. It's not precisely like City's suffocating passing, if still very disciplined and purposeful.

I think this is just an outlier. You can't expect Leverkusen to dominate and play that well every game, especially in different circumstances such as a round of 16 in a European competition. I'm pretty sure any team would like to go through, so they will try their best to play their game, especially in front of their fanbase. Whether there is a home advantage or not, I believe a player would love a supportive atmosphere in the stadium.

They probably wanted to make sure they could have a comfortable second leg. With the squad they have right now, winning is probably their only goal considering how open most of their recent games were. Nunez's improvement probably helped reduce the burden on the front three too, considering that Salah or Jota is still out injured while Gakpo and Diaz have been poor recently. If anything I believe their defense still needs more work compared to other areas on the pitch, but it is understandable since youngsters are the ones who fill the backline.

Yeah, I shouldn't forget about that.    It could have been such an interesting result if Qarabag managed to secure a win in the first leg. After watching the way they played against Braga and eliminated them I started to follow them closer... Even against one of the title contenders they played fearlessly and impressively. 

They really care about short passing a lot. The extra passes are also a big help to create a bigger opportunity to score. The teamwork is really strong so this must be the magic. They could have really won this match.

From the matches above Liverpool, Roma and Leverkusen performance was pleasing but the match that caught my attention was the Qarabag and Bayer Leverkusen game because I was so upset seeing the Xabi Alonso men losing 2:0 within the first 45 minutes because of the quality of players that he introduced in the first half but thank God they were able to bounce back to level the score to a 2:2 before the full-time. For Liverpool and Roma performance, I think they have got what it takes to be in the final and am so surprised to see Liverpool still pushing and playing with all seriousness when they have a big game against Manchester City this weekend in the league but hopefully they finally achieve what they want because they are hot this season.

Liverpool really performed extraordinary in that match. In fact, I didn't even think that Liverpool could be that strong in beating the host club and able to create a large aggregate. Of course, in the second leg, Liverpool will play a little comfortably without experiencing excessive pressure, after all, win or lose in second leg I'm not sure Sparta Prague will be able to create an aggregate that exceeds Liverpool. But yes I don't think Jurgen Kloop will let his club suffer defeat at home even though they have locked in their current victory, and I think Liverpool will still increase the aggregate because they played a little comfortable and have the opportunities they need.

Yes, at least Milan is ahead with 2 aggregates, even though it's not a big aggregate, but I think Milan can still qualify by implementing a defensive strategy in the second leg, even though sometimes Milan's performance is doubtful, they will fight to perform optimally here, but yes, they also have to learn from The previous mistake in the play off round was that they had created an early advantage in the first leg but in the second leg Milan lost but fortunately Milan were also able to increase the aggregate total so they could still be ahead in the second leg. I hope Milan doesn't make a mistake because it could be Slavia Prague put great pressure on Milan which caused Milan to have difficulty creating aggregate again.

The result I was surprised of the most was the one in the Roma-Brighton match. I don't know how Brighton lost by a big score like 4-0. Because they were technically one of the teams with really good scoring capability. Mitoma and Joao Pedro both weren't able to play in this game. Joao Pedro is the most scorer player of the team in the Europa League with 6 goals and you know how skilled Mitoma is. 

De Rossi really started to change things at Roma. They have started to score many more goals thanks to leaving Mourinho's more defensive system. I'm wondering how far they will go in the Europa League.

Champions League veterans, don't forget Somewhat joking but yeah, this was just moments away from being a glorious upset -- Leverkusen probably came away feeling lucky their undefeated status this season is still intact. Alonso must be pinching himself, how do you go an entire 30+ games without losing, when there was absolutely no indication (to me) last season that this run of games was coming.

Super possession, the return of extreme short passing? Or just an outlier?

Liverpool is of course higher class than Sparta, but Sparta did not play badly and often created dangerous moments, but Liverpool without a doubt won... Although as I expected, both teams scored goals, or rather Liverpool scored both goals... But Karabakh surprised me the most... They were very close to win... This team was a surprise for me this season...

I agree, even if they end up losing on the second leg, they have come as far as they possibly can, which is more than enough if you ask me, that is why I believe that nobody should count out all these smaller clubs just because they look like they are not that good. A small team that wants to win far more than a bigger club who doesn't care about the game could end up getting an upset.

I still think that Leverkusen will win the second game, but Leverkusen just realized that they can't underestimate their opponent and need to work hard towards what they have. I believe that's going to be the most important lesson for them. Maybe it's even good for Leverkusen, it made them open their eyes against other clubs in this competition.

Liverpool managed to win the match with final score 1 - 5, an easy win for Liverpool. 2nd Leg, Liverpool could play with more enjoyment because they 4 goals ahead. Most importantly, Liverpool will play as host in the 2nd leg, maybe Liverpool can get an additional 2 goals to give happiness to the Reds fans. Tough game for Sparta.

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In another match, AC Milan managed to win the match with a score of 4 - 2. A good score, but Milan was not that good. Because, the next match Slavia Praha will be a hosts, an aggregate 2 goals could end in a 2 - 0 defeat for Milan, if Milan players do not succeed in implementing Pioli's strategy well. even Milan still in inconsistent with their performance, hopefully 2nd leg Milan can play safe.

I think the same. the result Liverpool got isn't much surprising considering the huge quality difference. But I must really appreciate the way Sparta Prag fought back. It didn't reflect on the score maybe but they could have scored a couple of more goals. Kelleher made insane saves which prevented that also.   

I think he is quite a decent substitute goalkeeper as it can be seen from his recent statistics below also:



Qarabag are a quite interesting team... They fought really well against Leverkusen. They will probably find themselves out of the Europa League by the end of the rematch but it is still pleasing to watch their football. 

 It was indeed an entertaining night yesterday and of all the three English clubs in action, it was only Liverpool that excelled brilliantly. At this rate I dont think much needs to be played when they welcome Sparta to Anfield for the return leg and except the Czech republic based club can turn things around like they did when they met Galatasaray, I doubt they have any chances of proceeding to the next round.

 As for Roma vs Brighton game, it was glaring who the faves where and I don't think to Robert de zerbi prepared for this first leg mauling. This is another club that will have their work cut out for them when they meet for the return leg. In every aspect of the game they were outclassed by de Rossi's men and the way this coach is handling things, you won't even miss that Mourinho is no longer coaching them.
 I still don't understand why Brighton played the way they did yesterday, imagine having four shots on target and not even one could find the net to erase Roma's clean sheet! I feel Roberto will have to go back to the drawing board because they need to come up with a spectacular strategy to defeat Daniele de Rossi's men when they meet at the Amex for the second leg, at least have to something to hold on to, since you aren't in the top four in your domestic league let it be that you show you can be worthy opponents when these guys come to your turf.

All the games ended with goals above two, Liverpool already showing that they should be in the finals already of this competition because they are very dominant in this competition. Bayer Leverkusen almost lost the game, but they are too good this season for them to lose, they almost won it too after they got the equalizer in the final minutes, but they missed the chance. Roma outclassed Brighton, Daniele De Rossi will be proud if he can win this competition with Roma after Mourinho sack.