© EPA-EFE
Football often comes down to details. Just ask Sturm Graz, which was eliminated in Europe despite as many points as group winner Feyenoord.
Vincent Van Genechten
In Group F of the Europa League, everything was still up for grabs. Lazio led the dance with 8 points, ahead of Sturm Graz (8). Feyenoord (5) and Midtjylland (5) had only one hope to push through: winning on the last day of play. And so it happened.
Feyenoord won 1-0 against Lazio, while Midtjylland settled 2-0 with Sturm Graz.
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Good for an insane final score, with 8 points for all teams.
© UEFA.com
The big question: where is the difference? The main tiebreaker is the head-to-head result, but no difference could be made. The four clubs canceled their mutual results by either drawing twice or winning once and losing once. On to tiebreaker number two: the goal difference in the head-to-head results. That was a mess and made no difference. Thus, Lazio would come above Feyenoord, but below Midtjylland while Feyenoord would come above the Danes. So it’s an unfinished business. The same for tiebreaker number three: goals scored in the mutual duels.
And so the final score was determined by the general goal difference, so that Feyenoord and Midtjylland were immediately certain of the first two places. The team from Rotterdam win the group thanks to one more goals scored. Lazio has to go to the Conference League and poor Sturm Graz is left disappointed.
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