Jose Mourinho continues perfect Roma record and eyes possible Man Utd reunion
Jose Mourinho continued his perfect European record as Roma boss as they advanced past Real Sociedad to qualify for the Europa League quarter finals.
Mourinho masterminded the Italian club’s first European trophy in over 60 years as they won last season’s Conference League in his first campaign in Rome. The Giallorossi – 2-0 up from the first leg – frustrated the Basque outfit, who had topped their group stage which had included Manchester United, to advance to the last eight.
United qualified for the last eight after seeing off Real Betis 5-1 on aggregate and they could not be paired with their former boss in the quarter finals. Both clubs are now firmly among the favourites to win the Europa League, after Roma’s scoreless draw in San Sebastian sealing their progress.
Europa League roundup
Mourinho oversaw Roma's progress past Real Sociedad (Fabio Rossi/AS Roma via Getty Images)Sevilla may be struggling domestically this season but the Europa League – which they have won a record six times, all since 2006 – has once again proven to be their speciality as they progressed past Fenerbahce, despite losing 1-0 in Istanbul on Thursday.
A penalty from former West Ham striker Enner Valencia had given Fener the lead just before the break but having lost 2-0 the previous week in the Andalusian capital, it wasn’t enough despite a barrage of late pressure and nine minutes of added time.
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It was also the end of the road for the remarkable Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk – the last club left from the nation still suffering an ongoing invasion from Russia – after they heavily lost 7-1 away to Feyenoord.
Oussama Idrissi and Orkun Kokcu both netted twice for Arne Slot’s side with Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Santiago Gimenez and Danilo also finding the net in the rout for the only Dutch club remaining in the competition.
Juventus booked their place in the Europa League last eight with victory in Freiburg (Daniele Badolato - Juventus FC/Juventus FC via Getty Images)Juventus are also likely to be among the competition’s favourites – a Dusan Vlahovic penalty and late Federico Chiesa sealed a two-goal victory away at Freiburg, who had been reduced to ten men in the first half following Manuel Gulde’s red card.
Bayer Leverkusen are also through to the last eight after a two-goal win in Budapest against Ferencvaros, as goals from Moussa Diaby and Amine Adli eased them through with a four-goal aggregate triumph.
However, fellow Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin are out after a two-goal loss in Belgium against Union St. Gilloise. Teddy Teuma and Jean Thierry Lazare Amani both scored to seal a historic 5-3 aggregate victory.
Conference League Roundup
Lazio crashed out of the Conference League in Alkmaar (ANP via Getty Images)There were shocks in the Conference League with Italian giants Lazio crashing out at the hands of AZ Alkmaar. Having lost the first leg 2-1 in Rome, Felipe Anderson had given them the lead in the Netherlands but goals either side of the break from Jesper Karlsson and Vangelis Pavlidis saw the Dutch side win on the night and on aggregate.
Last season’s Champions League semi-finalists Villarreal also shockingly crashed out at the hands of Anderlecht – Islam Slimani scored the only goal of the night in Spain, to seal a stunning 2-1 aggregate victory. Elsewhere, Attacking trio Gaetan Laborde, Terem Moffi and Billal Brahimi all found the net for Nice as they progressed past Moldovan champions FC Sheriff 4-1 on aggregate.
Fiorentina eased through to the quarter finals with a 4-1 win (5-1 on aggregate) at Sivasspor, but their victory was marred by midfielder Alessandro Bianco being punched by a pitch invader during goal celebrations. The unsavoury incident happened as Gaetano Castrovilli scored the Serie A side’s fourth goal late on – with a fan running on to the pitch and punching Bianco in the face.
Anderlecht striker Islam Slimani scored the only goal of the game in Spain to knock out Villarreal (Maria Jose Segovia/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)Vincenzo Italiano’s side were already in full control of the tie after goals from Arthur Cabral and Nikola Milenkovic before an own goal from the Turkish side’s defender Dimitris Goutas.
Basel came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at Slovan Bratislava and win the penalty shootout 4-1 in the Slovakian capital. Polish club Lech Poznan’s progress was much more comfortable, triumphing in Sweden 3-0 against Djurgaarden – who had defender Marcus Danielson sent-off in the first half – to progress 5-0 on aggregate.
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Belgian side Gent had already booked their place in the last eight earlier this week after an eye-catching 4-1 victory away at Istanbul Basaksehir. After last week’s score draw in Belgium, the hosts were blown away by a three-minute hat-trick by Nigerian striker Gift Orban before Hugo Cuypers added a fourth before the break. Adnan Januzaj’s late consolation was far too little, far too late for the Turkish side.
Europa League quarter finalists : Sporting CP, Manchester United, Sevilla, Feyenoord, Juventus, Bayer Leverkusen, Roma, Union St. Gilloise
Europa Conference League quarter finalists : West Ham, Nice, Lech Poznan, Fiorentina, Basel, Gent, AZ Alkmaar, Anderlecht
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