12 nations represented, the Bodø/Glimt surprise… What to remember from the round of 16

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The round of 16 of the Europa League and its new little sister, the Europa League conference ended on Thursday 17 March. Fifteen matches took place, after the suspension of Spartak Moscow and the automatic qualification of Leipzig. Some favorites are starting to emerge while other clubs have created a surprise. Mixed results for the French teams.

A string of nations represented

Of the sixteen teams qualified in the two competitions, twelve different countries will be playing in the quarter-finals. A fairly usual multitude in the Europa League, which notably saw in 2018, eight teams from eight different countries compete at this stage of the competition. The advent of the Europa League conference reinforces this phenomenon with the presence of representatives of the Greek, Norwegian and Czech championships in particular.

No league has managed to place more than two teams in these quarter-finals. France with Marseille and Lyon, England with West Ham and Leicester and the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord are top of the bill. Nothing to do with the three English clubs and as many Spaniards on eight teams in the Champions League.

Marseille and Lyon, the only French survivors

Four French clubs were involved in these knockout stages of C3 and C4, two in each competition. And only Marseille and Lyon got away with it. In the Europa League, Franco-Portuguese duels took place with a parity score of a team from each qualified country. Lyon got rid of an impressive Porto this season and unbeaten in the league thanks to a victory in the first leg (1-0) and a draw in the return (1-1). Monaco did not have the same success and fell to Braga (2-0, 1-1).

On the side of the Europa League conference, Marseille got rid of the Basel trap despite a glaring lack of efficiency in the two meetings. The Olympians won by the same score of 2-1 on the first leg as on the return leg. Last club involved, Stade Rennais was opposed to Leicester and the Bretons will long regret this goal conceded in stoppage time in the first leg which prevents them from creating the feat (2-0, 1-2).

Barcelona pass in pain

Held in check in the first leg at Camp Nou by Galatasaray (0-0) despite an overwhelming domination, the return match in Turkey was the perfect trap for the Blaugrana. The opening of the score by Marcao could have made believe in an exploit of the players of Domenec Torrent. But the time when FC Barcelona lost its means when the scenario was not favorable to it seems to be over.

Since the arrival of Xavi on the bench, the Catalans have been transformed and Pedri’s superb goal, a few minutes after the opener, clearly shows this change. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will come to deliver his team just after the break to leave the banks of the Bosphorus with qualification in his pocket for the quarter-finals of the Europa League. The Catalans are among the favorites in a competition they have never won.

The two Sevilla clubs will not play the final at home

Six-time winners of the Europa League and its ancestor, the UEFA Cup, Sevilla FC acted as the natural favorites of the competition. Especially since the final is scheduled in their den of Ramón-Sánchez-Pizjuán. But Julen Lopetegui’s players were stopped by West Ham in extra time. A logical qualification of the Hammers who mastered the meeting and knew how to bend the six-time champions in overtime (0-1, 2-0 ap).

Betis, another club from the Andalusian capital, also lost in extra time and will not play the final in the city’s enemy stadium. And yet, they are the ones who snatched the extension in the 90th through Borja Iglesias. But Frankfurt took revenge by qualifying in the last seconds of this extra time thanks to a goal from Martin Hinteregger.

Bodø/Glimt, the Norwegian surprise guest

The European adventure continues for the Norwegian champion. A qualification snatched in extra time against AZ Alkmaar. After winning 2-1 in the first leg, the Scandinavians lost by the same score in regulation time. Dominated, they managed to turn the tide to score in the 105th and never to be caught again.

A great story for this club which had already been talked about after correcting AS Roma 6-1 in the Europa League. A qualification all the more heroic as the Norwegian championship ended last December and will not resume until early April. They also lost two of their key players (Erik Botheim and Patrick Berg) during the transfer window. It is the first Norwegian team in the quarter-finals of a European Cup since 1999.


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