It was an intense day of European clashes between the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League. Barcelona had a difficult game in Istanbul against Galatasaray, but in the end Xavi Hernandez's squad came back from a one-goal deficit away from home to reach the quarterfinals. Let's recap an action-packed night filled with some nice goals and a few disappointments as we inch closer to Friday's big draw -- stream on Paramount+.
Europa League results
- Barcelona 2, Galatasaray 1 -- Barca advance 2-1 on aggregate
- Atalanta 1, Bayern Leverkusen 0 -- Atalanta advance 4-2 on aggregate
- Monaco 1, Braga 1 -- Braga advance 3-1 on aggregate
- Red Star Belgrade 2, Rangers 1 -- Rangers advance 4-2 on aggregate
- Lyon 1, Porto 1 -- Lyon advance 2-1 on aggregate
- Frankfurt 1, Real Betis 1 (a.e.t.) -- Frankfurt advance 3-2 on aggregate
- West Ham 2, Sevilla 0 (a.e.t.) -- West Ham advance 2-1 on aggregate
Match of the Day: Barcelona survive
Xavi's squad managed to pull away an impressive win in Istanbul despite running into some early bumps. The Turkish club had everything play out to their advantage when they scored the opening goal of the night with Marcao in the 28th minute. It wasn't until an amazing goal scored by Pedri nine minutes later that gave the equalizer to and the confidence before the halftime break to turn things around. In the second half, former Arsenal attacker Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang scored the winner. The only negative news of the night comes from USMNT's right back Sergino Dest, who was set to play a big part in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers. He picked up what looked like a hamstring injury in the second half and could not end the game and will likely undergo medical examinations in the near future to evaluate his injury.
Biggest disappointment: Rangers
Rangers, a side coached by Serbian legend Dejan Stankovic, managed to leave the Marakana Stadium in Belgrade with an uncomfortable 2-1 defeat to Red Star Belgrade. Sure, they still advanced to the Europa League quarterfinals as they await their opponent in Friday's draw, but this was a loss that still brings some concern to a team that, prior to this game, had only one loss to its name since Nov. 21, 2021. If Stankovic's side wants to have any chance to hoisting the Europa League trophy for the first time in club history, it will need to know how to win away from Ibrox Stadium.
Goal of the day: Pedri
There are already some dangerous comparisons with some Barcelona midfielders of the past, but this is a goal that definitely needs to be looked at closely. Pedri is only 19 years old and he's already viewed as a pure talent, and this goal further cemented his status.
Player of the day: Jeremie Boga
Atalanta played it tight away at Bayer Leverkusen and it somehow paid off in a big way with a last-gasp win to put away the tie in the second leg. The Italian side proved to be a tough opponent for many European clubs as well and found a gem in former Chelsea academy player Jeremie Boga, who is a player that has shown signs of promise week after week. This is the 90th minute goal that led Atalanta to the quarterfinals:
Conference League results
- AZ 2, Bodo/Glimt 2 (Bodo/Glimt advance)
- Marseille 2, Basel 1 (OM advance)
- Copenhagen 0, PSV 4 (PSV advance)
- Rennes 2, Leicester 1 (Leicester advance)
- Feyenoord 3, Partizan 1 (Feyenoord advance)
- Gent 2, PAOK 1 (PAOK advance)
- LASK 4, Slavia Prague 3 (Slavia Prague advance)
- AS Roma 1, Vitesse 1 (AS Roma advance)
Crvena Zvezda
Rangers
Game Simulator
UEFA - Europa League
FINAL (3/17/2022)
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