OM against Benfica in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, Lille against Aston Villa in the Europa League conference

The first legs will be played on April 11, in Portugal for Marseille and in England at one of the favorites of the C4 for Losc, depending on the result of the draw which took place on Friday.

For its return to the quarter-finals of the Europa League, Olympique de Marseille was served. The Marseille club inherited Benfica during the draw in Nyon on Friday March 15. The Phocaeans will host the return match on April 18 after the first match in Portugal on April 11. Same dates, same scenario with a decisive match at home for Lille, which will face the English club Aston Villa of former PSG coach Unai Emery, in the quarter-finals of the C4, the Europa Conference League.

To hope to go as far as in 2018, when OM reached the final, Jean-Louis Gasset’s men will have to have fewer scares than in the round of 16 and a qualification with forceps in Villarreal on Thursday, after flying over the first leg. The Marseillais could then face the winner of the quarter-final between Liverpool, one of the main favorites for the event, and Atalanta Bergamo in the semi-final (May 2 and 9).

Bad memories of 1990

A funny parallel with its great rival PSG, who will face Barça in the Champions League, this quarter-final poster will bring back painful memories for OM. In 1990, Marseille was eliminated in the semi-final of the European Champion Clubs’ Cup, the current Champions League, by the Lisbon club following a gross refereeing error in the return match, and a goal from the hand of Vata.”I promise you I get this, it will never happen again“, then swore Bernard Tapie, the Marseille president, in the face of what he considered to be a lack of respect on the part of the refereeing. This setback had contributed to the genesis of the 1993 title.

More recently, Benfica frustrated Marseille in 2010, in the round of 16 of the Europa League with an elimination at 89^e minute of the return match at the Vélodrome stadium. The Portuguese – currently second in their championship with a point behind but a game more than Sporting – qualified on Thursday not without also being scared, with a crucial but narrow 0-1 success against Glasgow Rangers. In its quest for history, Marseille could only meet AC Milan again, its victim in the 1993 C1 title match, in the final, if the Rossoneri initially dismiss another Italian club, AS Roma.

Aston Villa, very strong for Lille

For its first quarter-final in the European Cup, Lille drew what is perhaps the best in the Europa Conference League this season at this stage: the English side Aston Villa. The Villains are among the biggest surprises in Europe this season, with a provisional fourth place in the Premier League, ahead of historic British footballers like Manchester United, or even West Ham, title holder of this C4.

After qualifying easily against the Austrians of Sturm Graz (4-1 overall), Lille will have to raise their level of play against a well-endowed squad. Several French players could return to French pitches, such as former Losc Lucas Digne, Moussa Diaby, recalled Thursday by Didier Deschamps to the French team, or even Clément Lenglet. Aston Villa also counts other well-known names in French football in its ranks. Coach Unai Emery was PSG coach between 2016 and 2018, notably during the humiliating elimination at Barcelona in the Champions League, and has four European titles in the Europa League. The Villains goalkeeper, Emiliano Martinez, was one of the executioners of the Blues in the Argentina goal in the final of the last World Cup. It will not be an easy task, therefore, for the Northerners, who, in the event of qualification, would face the winner of the electric quarter-final between Olympiakos and Fenerbahçe.

Posters for the Europa League quarter-finals

AC Milan – AS Roma
Liverpool – Atalanta Bergamo
Bayer Leverkusen – West Ham
Benfica – Olympique de Marseille

Posters for the Europa League semi-finals

Benfica or Olympique de Marseille – Liverpool or Atalanta Bergamo
AC Milan or AS Roma – Bayer Leverkusen or West Ham

The posters for the quarter-finals of the Europa Conference League

Club Brugge – PAOK Salonika
Olympiakos – Fenerbahçe
Aston Villa – Lille
Viktoria Plzen – Fiorentina

The posters for the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League

Aston Villa or Lille – Olympiakos or Fenerbahçe
Viktoria Plzen or Fiorentina – Club Bruges or PAOK Salonika