The battle between Czech footballers in the opening quarter-final of the Europa League turned out better for those wearing the Bayer Leverkusen jersey. The Bundesliga leaders beat West Ham United 2-0 at home.
Benfica Lisbon also turned the advantage of the home environment into a victory in the match against Olympique Marseille. At home, on the other hand, AC Milan failed in the Italian duel with AS Rome, and FC Liverpool suffered a three-goal debacle from Atalanta Bergamo.
Matěj Kovář in Bayer’s goal caught the eighth of his club’s nine matches in the Europa League and kept a clean sheet for the fourth time. Patrik Schick headed for the post after half an hour, but the Polish goalkeeper Fabiaňski pushed his foot into the corner. The substitution worked out perfectly for coach Xabi Alonso. For the last quarter of an hour Schick was replaced by the Nigerian striker Boniface, Hofmann came along with him, and this pair took a two-goal lead in the rematch.
Adam Hložek, who injured his ankle at the weekend, was missing from the lineup. The guests had to do without the injured gunner Bowen, and the Brazilian Paquetá and the Italian Emerson, who saw the third yellow card, will not be able to play in the rematch.
Atalanta made a surprise 2-0 win at Anfield in the 2020 Champions League and added another goal on top today. The visitors had a great chance in the third minute, but Crovat Pasalič only hit the head of the falling goalkeeper Kelleher from close range. The warning did not help and Scamacca, who spent last season in the English league in the service of West Ham, hit the target before the break.
Before the second half, the disgruntled coach Klopp made three changes and the top scorer Salah came to the pitch. But instead of equalizing, Scamacca added the second goal and Pasalič completed the sensation. Liverpool, who comfortably beat Sparta twice in the last round, will have a lot of catching up to do in the return leg.
Milan have won both head-to-head matches with AS Roma in the Italian league this season and have clearly had the upper hand lately. The Romans last humbled him at home in October 2019 and waited two years longer for victory at the San Siro.
The visitors exactly repeated the situation that decided the Roman derby on Saturday. Argentina’s Dybala found Mancini’s head from a corner kick and he sent the ball into the net. Just before that, the home coach Pioli vehemently demanded that the corner be played from the goal for the previous offside, but he only received a yellow card.
Benfica set a new record for the competition by advancing to the quarter-finals of the Europa League for the sixth time, and after a 2-1 win over Olympique Marseille, they have reached the semi-finals, where they last played ten years ago. Rafa Silva and Argentina’s Di María took care of the goals.
The top scorer of the Europa League, Aubameyang from Gabon, gave hope for a revenge with his tenth goal. The match in Lisbon confirmed the crisis of the French club, which came out empty-handed three times in a row and the cup rungs are moving away from it. The change of coach in February had only a short-term effect, and new coach Gasset is already under pressure. The only thing that can save him is progress to the semi-finals.
The return leg is in a week’s time, with the final to be played in Dublin on May 22, with the winner qualifying directly for the Champions League group stage.
The opening match of the quarter-finals of the Football Europa League:
AC Milan – AS Roma 0:1 (0:1). Goal: 17. Mancini.
Liverpool – Atalanta Bergamo 0:3 (0:1). Goals: 38. and 60. Scamacca, 83. Pasalič.
Leverkusen – West Ham United 2:0 (0:0). Goals: 83. Hofmann, 90.+1 Boniface.
Benfica Lisabon – Olympique Marseille 2:1 (1:0). Goals: 16. Rafa Silva, 52. Di María – 67. Aubameyang.
2024-04-11 20:59:31
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