The intrigue in the quarterfinals remained almost everywhere.

Europa League

Manchester United (England) – Sevilla (Spain) – 2: 2 (Zabitzer, 14, 21 – Malasia (own goal), 84, Maguire (own goal), 90+1)

An incredible match took place in Manchester, where Manchester United hosted Sevilla at Old Trafford. In whatever position this Spanish team is, in the Europa League they are always strong and dangerous. True, at the very beginning of the meeting it was impossible to say. In the early part of the game Manchester dominated and quickly found weak spots in Sevilla’s central defence, which failed again and again after penetrating passes.

It was with their help that Fernandes and Martial, at intervals of seven minutes, were brought into a shock position in the Zabitzer penalty area. His appearance so shocked Marcão and Nyanza that they lost him and allowed him to score. It looked like United would continue to bully and the game would end in rout. Sevilla looked dejected, Manchester on the rise.

But in Manchester United he believed in success too early and decided to give the Spanish the ball. And Sevilla have the desire to win in the Europa League in their blood. She perked up. And not even in the second half, but in the last quarter of the game, when Manchester United he missed a few more scoring chances and was convinced of his own game superiority. It was then that Sevilla rushed forward and equalized within minutes of the end of the match. And thanks to own goals. First, Navas’ cross sent Malasia into his own goal, then Maguire corrected En-Nesiri’s shot.

It should be noted that Manchester were in the minority at this point, as Martinez was injured and ten Hag was out of substitutions. However, the ease with which United lost control of the match is astonishing. And it makes the second leg in Spain intriguing. Will Sevilla win another title? THE?

The match ended with an approximate draw (12:13), more precisely it was Manchester United (5:3), the hosts had another shot in the woodwork. They also had more ball possession throughout the game, but less late on. But the passing accuracy due to the hustle and bustle of both teams was not that high: 79 percent for Manchester United and 77 for Sevilla.

Juventus (Italy) – Sporting (Portugal) – 1:0 (Gatti, 73)

The fate of this confrontation is also in limbo. And those who saw the game probably believe that Sporting are also the favourites. The fact is that the Portuguese were simply better in Turin, they seemed more dangerous and more interesting. And the fate of the match was decided by a combination of circumstances, a successful shot by Gatti after an outgoing mistake by the Sporting Adana goalkeeper, as well as the save by Schesny and Perin.

Yes, two goalkeepers played for Juventus, because Shchesny, who started from the start, suffered an alarming injury and was replaced in the 44th minute of the match. But Perin didn’t let us down and even started saving right away. The decisive goal was scored in the 73rd minute, but then Lisbon were able to equalize and snatch victory. They were terribly unlucky.

Sporting in Turin had more than 58 percent possession, shot 15 times on target against nine (six shots against three), was good at combinations with 87 percent accurate passing against 82. In Portugal, Juventus with such a match will turn out to be very difficult.

Feyenoord (Netherlands) – Rome (Italy) – 1:0 (Wiffer, 53′)

Only one ball decided the fate of another meeting with the participation of the Italian team. But this lost. The Roma Jose Mourinho looked good. He could have been in the majority earlier in the match when Wiffer almost received a red card, hurting Dybala in a hard tackle. The judge limited himself to yellow. Then Wiffer himself played with his hand in his own penalty area and was awarded a penalty. But Pellegrini hit the post.

In general, Roma had every chance to win. But Wiffer himself was able to deliver a stunning long-range strike in the second half to bring success to Feyenoord. However, nothing is clear in the comparison. Roma scored 17 shots, Feyenoord 12. Although both teams had problems with accuracy. The Romans hit the target three times, Rotterdam twice. The hosts had more ball possession (55% of the time) and were more accurate in passing (85% vs. 81).

Bayer (Germany) – Union (Belgium) – 1:1 (Wirtz, 82 – Bonifas, 51)

The sensational procession of the modest “Union” continues, which could not even dream of such heights, and now boldly trying to break through to the semifinals of the Europa League. But here we can talk about a common favorite mistake – underestimating the opponent. “Bayer” obviously did not tune in in the best way and in the first part of the match he looked very sluggish, lacking in initiative, as if victory should come to him precisely because of the status of favorite.

And the “Union” rested well, although it did nothing wonderful. The miracle came at the beginning of the second half, when Bonifas gave the Belgians the lead with a technical shot. It was then that Bayer moved and Wirtz was able to shoot clearly from distance. By the way, since the transfer of Azmun, who came on as a substitute in the second half.

The draw was not what Bayer had hoped for, with 64% possession and 86% passing accuracy. The Leverkuseners shot 15 times but hit the target twice, while the Union had four shots on eight shots and a passing percentage of 77%. However, Bayer is unlikely to underestimate their away opponents. Here the fairy tale “Union” can end.

Conference League

Gent (Belgium) – West Ham (England) – 1:1 (Kuypers, 56 – Ingz, 45+3)

“West Ham” often in the top stages of European junior competition, which English clubs usually do not favor. And then the Londoners almost broke their teeth on the Belgian Ghent. The visitors managed to score first thanks to the efforts of Ingz in the first half’s stoppage time. But already at the beginning of the second half, Kuypers leveled the score, and Orban almost scored the most beautiful goal of the game day, spectacularly hitting himself from the penalty line. Hit the crossbar. The draw clearly upset both teams, but West Ham remain favourites.

“Basel” (Switzerland) – “Nice” (France) – 2: 2 (Amduni, 26, 71 – Moffi, 38, 45 + 1)

And in this match, the most beautiful goal of the week in the European Cup was scored. But first, Amdouni gave Basel the lead with a penalty awarded for a dubious push into the area by Todibo against Ndoy. At the end of the half Moffi equalized and just before the break gave Nice the lead with a scissor kick by Laborde.

“Nice” looked very decent in this match and could well claim victory, however, in the second half, Amduni scored twice, directing Lang’s perfect serve into the goalkeeper’s box. “Basel” is a team in which anything can happen in matches, so “Nice” cannot be considered the unequivocal favorite to return.

Anderlecht (Belgium) – AZ (Netherlands) – 2:0 (Murillo, 22, Ashimeru, 70)

One could say that against the background of most of the results of the day in this pair, the favorite is more or less clear. Anderlecht managed to win at home, confirming the trend of the last few weeks. This Belgian side have not lost seven games since the beginning of March. Even if he’s only ninth in his championship.

It’s here AZ, who occupy fourth place in the Eredivisie, after overcoming Lazio in the previous stage, have now lost the third match of their last four. The Alkmaar team is clearly out of shape. And Anderlecht took advantage of it, scoring a brace. Of course, Belgian and Dutch clubs can give something unpredictable, but AZ in a week it will be extremely difficult to correct the situation.

Lech (Poland) – Fiorentina (Italy) – 1:4 (Velde, 20 – Cabral, 4, Gonzalez, 41, Bonaventura, 58, Icons, 63)

But the only couple where everything is clear after the first game. Fiorentina has fully realized its status as favourites. He already scored in the fourth minute, but immediately allowed to equalise. They managed to get back in front before the break, and shortly after, with an interval of five minutes, Fiorentina scored twice more. He could have stood out even more, but even this away defeat is enough for Lech to count for next to nothing on the road. Fiorentina have not lost in 14 consecutive matches. And this is even an application for the favorite status of the entire tournament.