Topic: UEFA Europa League Discussion Thread - page 147. (Read 34287 times)

It was never that easy for Barca before the match to begin with. Napoli are tough opponents and they are one of the title contenders of Serie A, it wasn't easy for Barcelona who just are picking themselves up from struggling stage. They still played good dominating game and given the size of Napoli they really did well by not allowing not many chances. Second leg will be even more interesting.

Napoli have the best papers to advance to the next round. It will be a difficult story for Borussia Dortmund, they have lost at home and of course that is also a world of difference. I think Borussia should be able to win in Scotland, but to win by three goals might be a bit too much to ask. We'll see how it goes, I'll put my money on Napoli and the Rangers to get to the next round.

Barcelona - Napoli and Dortmund - Rangers games got all the attention everywhere even here
The other games started with an upset for Porto and Atalanta but they managed to flip the results at the end while Leipzig got a precious 1 point from Sociedad.
So far there isn't an obvious result that will let a team be comfortable in the second leg, maybe Sevilla? Sheriff and Rangers will have less stress but they shouldn't accept goals. The other games might end with an upset for some of the teams leading right now.

Barcelona seem to have started back in their tiki taka strategy at the moment and indeed this is what Xavi wants to put back in the barcelona game now and Napoli really can't do much in this match apart from defending and counter-attacking quickly.
With the abolition of the away goal system at this time, it is very likely that both teams will still have the same advantage but on the other hand I agree with what you said when indeed Napoli are still doing things like now then Barcelona will definitely benefit greatly even though this is their away match

Napoli's performance in Seire A is remarkable. They are fighting for the title now. However, I did not like their performance against Barcelona at all. Barcelona's defense is not very strong. Even then Napoli played completely defensive in this match. Barcelona are improving themselves and consistently trying to play well. If they can maintain this continuity, then Barcelona will win the away match.

Maybe I'm the only one who doesn't agree with the VAR decision for the penalty kick for Barcelona, because even though the ball is considered to hit the hand but it only touches a little and only on the fingertips. That is, the player does not actually hold the ball and also, the direction of the ball after hitting the hand does not change direction or in other words there is no big impact or effect after the ball hits the hand. If Barcelona's gameplay doesn't change in the second leg, then I will doubt it but I also don't have a definite choice who will qualify, it's just that if Barcelona's gameplay is still like that then I think Napoli are more worthy to qualify for the next round.

I'm not surprised by the result of the barca vs napoli match, barca is not yet stable, even in La Liga they are still trying to get back up. a draw at camp nou is a sweet opportunity for Napoli, in the 2nd leg they should be able to beat barca at home.

I think this was a really realistic result for this kind of match and how both teams played. I think still that Barcelona will need to do a lot more in Italy. Napoli also played some good football,while Barcelona is still trying to put all the new players togheter. Its hard to get fresh new players to play as a team in the first few months.

I wasn't surprised to see Dortmund lose at home by such a margin to a team like Rangers. From the performance yesterday, it's safe to say that rangers play the same level of football as teams in the bottom to mid-table of the Bundesliga. It's not much different and Dortmund is actually a team that is widely known for losing to teams they are supposed to easily beat by 4-0, 5-0 or even 6-0 so it's not surprising at all to me. Although I'd like to see them do a comeback in the return leg 🙂

I was shocked at the way Rangers were bottling Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund played awful until they went 3-0 down. While Rangers played their game and took advantage. Bossed the midfield and had Kent and Morelos stretching their defenders. Borussia Dortmund were pathetic defensively. They really need to fix their defensive problem. It is a waste when you have a great striker but your defenders are awful. All in all, if the 2nd leg is similar to either half, Rangers go through. Dortmund have to be at their absolute best to win by 3 goals or more. I think it’s time Dortmund start focusing on developing and keeping players something of a long term project.

I think a draw is a very natural thing because the two teams have almost the same strength. Napoli have a very strong defense even Barcelona were not able to score in that match but luckily the deadlock was broken when the referee awarded a penalty to Barcelona.
In the 2nd leg, I think the chances of both teams are still the same to qualify for the next round and if Barcelona fail, I don't think it's a shame because Napoli are a great team from Italy.

I saw that in fact Barcelona were able to win in that match, apart from they were able to control the match up to 64%, Barcelona were also able to create a lot of chances and they managed to release a total of 21 shots, but indeed Napoli who were more defensive were very difficult for them to penetrate, I think Napoli played more effectively in the match despite being under pressure, so they were able to score a goal in the 29th minute and the goal made Barcelona panic a little, but fortunately Barcelona were able to get a penalty in that match and managed to avoid defeat to Napoli.

Indeed, the Barcelona vs Napoli match should have attracted a lot of people's attention, because compared to other matches in the Europa League,
Barcelona vs Napoli match can be said to be a big match. But the results are very disappointing, especially for Barcelona supporters a draw is difficult
to accept. Because in the second leg Barcelona will be more difficult to win, because they have to play away, and Napoli will be more motivated
by a draw against Barcelona. I agree the second leg will be very tough, because both teams will definitely try to win the match.

Then the Dortmund vs Ranger match, this proves how Dortmund always has trouble winning matches without Haaland's presence. Because
Haaland's influence was quite large for Dortmund, and unfortunately Donyell Malen failed to replace Haaland's role. Dortmund defeat at home,
already gave indications that the possibility of Dortmund to qualify for the next round is very small. Even Ranger's attacks were very effective,
they can score 4 goals while playing away is a very extraordinary thing. That already describes how bad Dortmund's game is.

For the Porto vs Lazio match, Porto created far more chances, even Porto managed to kick 21 times. So Porto deserved to win, but Lazio
in my opinion played quite well, even though they lost, but at least Lazio put up a fight. Lazio should be able to win the match in the second leg,
because in the second leg Lazio will be the host. That is a distinct advantage for Lazio.

I know exactly what the Scottish league is like and what Rangers are like there. They are one of the toughest teams to beat apart from Celtic. But Borussia Dortmund's defeat to them is something that is difficult to accept considering the class between the two of them is very different and it seems to see Borussia Dortmund win more than 2 goals at Ibrox Stadium is not impossible even though it will be a little difficult.

The match between Barcelona and Napoli, can be said to be the main match of the European League yesterday, but unfortunately the result of the match was beyond the expectations we wanted, but with the draw, it will certainly make the match in the second leg very exciting in my opinion.

Dortmund and Ranger, a match that can be said to be a match between giants vs. Dwarves, but the result was quite surprising to everyone when a team like dortmund was able to be humiliated by the rangers, dortmund hopes of qualifying I think a little impossible, what do you think?

Porto and Lazio match, to be honest I missed that the match, because I was more focused on enjoying the match between Barcelona and Napoli.

Perhaps the most awaited match yesterday was Barcelona against Napoli, where there was no winner. I think Napoli will win the next game in Italy and it would be a shame for Barcelona if they don't make it to the 1/8, while Sheriff could make it.

Napoli are showing that their defense is the best in the world right now. Barcelona's attacks against Napoli are always broken by Napoli defenders, you could say Napoli almost only rely on counter attacks. Barcelona had so many chances but couldn't score a single goal, only scored on penalties. by looking at the match last night it was difficult for Barcelona to penetrate the Napoli defense which was so difficult. I think Napoli are one step ahead to advance to the next round.

the games that surprised me

Barcelona 1 - 1 napoli

it was a game where i thought napoli would win

Borussia 2 - 4 Ranger

it was a shocking result, borussia are not doing well as a team, they just have little chance to change that result

Porto 2 - 1 Lazio

I also thought that Porto would lose

Napoli are a very formidable team that will take out Barcelona in the next match. Ferran Torres wasted three clear chances, of course he busted in tears because he knew he has bottled Barcelona chances of progressing to the next stage. He surely need to up-up his game scoring. But the fact that he was constantly getting in those goal scoring areas is still a good consideration. One bad match isn't the end of the world surely. Honestly, Barcelona played great, their only weak point against Napoli was they couldn't finish their chances. I just hope that his intense interest in Him won't  impede Barcelona's champions league struggle.

It is clear that Dortmund too depends on Haaland. When Haaland cannot play, they got a bad result like in this match. They seem a bit difficult to attack, instead prefer to defend and result in conceded 4 goals. Besides too depending on Haaland, I think Dortmund defenders are weak. Although Dortmund strikers cannot show their best, the defenders can make the opponent attackers hard to score at least. In this match, both defenders and strikers of Dortmund performed badly.