The first meetings are quite productive.

The first matches of the round of 16 of the Europa League have ended. Manchester United have shown there is life after a 0-7 draw at Anfield, Shakhtar continue to impress with their competitiveness and Arsenal unexpectedly found themselves in the catch-up role in Portugal. Let’s analyze the alignment of forces based on the results of the first clashes.

Manchester UnitedJuventus and Roma confirmed their status as favourites, it was more difficult for Arsenal

I’m happy with how the Red Devils reacted to Liverpool’s crushing defeat. Yet it was a strong blow to the stomach after the talks about the quadruple started (the League Cup already exists – there was the FA Cup, the championship in Premier League and victory within THE). But the Dutch coach correctly took advantage of the misfire: in the locker room he forced his wards to listen in silence as Merseyside celebrated their victory. Ten Hag told the players that this would serve as motivation not to play so weakly again. And for the match against Betis he fielded the same starting line-up as for the disastrous match against Liverpool.

The defeat against the “Reds” does not cancel the progress of “United” this season: it is still the same team ready to fight. Such a lesson for a team that has changed dramatically in less than a year was vital, and even better if they learned it in the league and not in relegation matches. The Mancunians formed a solid foundation before the away match: Betis will have to win back 3 goals, which is not easy to do with the English giant.

Juventus haven’t even been knocked down by a 15-point penalty taken away in Serie A – Turintsy have quickly returned to the fight for European competition and are just 7 points behind Atalanta, and have only lost once in the last month. Such a push awakened sporting anger in the “old lady”, so the “black and white” remain in the ranking of favorites of the second most important European Cup. It will be difficult to get into the quarterfinals, because according to the results of the home match against Freiburg, Juve have to be content with a minimal advantage, and at home the Germans have only lost once all season so far.

Arsenal unexpectedly became one of the few teams whose match ended in a draw. Although there are several factors to consider. Firstly, the Londoners had a difficult opponent (Sporting had a difficult winter). Secondly, their duel took place on the “lions” field – none of the away teams won yesterday. At the same time, the Gunners have managed to maintain parity before the home game, which means that the second leg will be a little easier to play.

Three clubs leave room for sensation

Among these could also be Feyenoord. But the status of this team is higher than that of those who will be discussed. Shakhtar had much more problems: the coach, with whom the bosses of the Pitmen wanted to build a long-term strategy, and the best foreign players who were needed to implement it, left. The Grand Ukrainian was left with nothing, and the chosen course had to be corrected on the go. Even so, Shakhtar ruined Leipzig’s nerves in the playoff fight Champions League and reached the round of 16 THE. At home, Igor Jovićević’s wards drew with Feyenoord. Surprisingly, today’s result of Shakhtar in European competitions is even better than the previous season.

“Union” and “Union” scored 3:3 in Berlin – and that only further fuels interest in the couple. On the one hand, the Germans, who were playing in the 2nd Bundesliga four years earlier and made their way into the club from the top 3 of the top division in this period. The team from Brussels, on the other hand, which returned even later to the elite division, however, immediately established itself in the top three. For “Union” this is the first season in European competitions for a long time – and they are already entering the playoffs. Union were in fifth place a year ago and playing in the Conference League, and now they have surged forward on both fronts. Regardless of who goes further, we will get another “dark horse”.

Sevilla and Bayer are in the process of rehabilitation

Fans of both teams were clearly expecting more from the current season and were quite nervous last fall. Bayer, like Sevilla, had a very bad start to the championship, went into the direct relegation zone – and in such conditions the matches of another tournament turned against the “pharmacists”. After the defeat against Bayern in the 8th round and the one against Porto in Champions League the bosses decided to fire Gerardo Seoane.

Already under the leadership of Xabi Alonso, Bayer sensationally took away a ticket to Atletico THE, made it through the play-offs and beat Ferencvaros in their first game. At the same time, in the Bundesliga, the “pharmacists” climbed to 9th place and reduced the gap to the Champions Cup zone to 8 points. The season is slowly getting better, but for rehabilitation you have to at least get to the quarterfinals and jump into the top 5 of the Bundesliga.

A similar path was followed by Sevilla, however, with some reservations. Like the Germans, the “red and whites” failed the first part of the championship and hardly earned a place THEchanging coach. But in the group, the Mingians were lucky with a competitor for the third line – it’s much easier to fight against Copenhagen than against Atletico. Yes, and with a similar result from the first match of the round of 16 THE in the league Sevilla are doing much worse than Bayer. The latter managed to improve their ranking, but the red and white failed in the closing laps and were relegated to 17th place. He could easily be in the relegation zone this weekend. For their rehabilitation, better focus on the national championship.