The first tickets for the 16e Europa League final fell Thursday, November 26 with the qualifications of Arsenal, Leicester, Roma, Hoffenheim and Slavia Prague in the 4e day, while Lille must be patient and Nice can hardly believe it.
The Mastiffs led and abused by AC Milan, will have to wait a little longer before qualifying for the 16e. Lille obtained a good draw (1-1) on their lawn after conceding the opener to the Spaniard Samu Castillejo from the first seconds of the second period, but Losc managed to equalize by Jonathan Bamba (65e).
The Mastiffs thus retain the lead of Group H (8 points) with respectively one step ahead of the Rossoneri and two over Sparta Prague, wide winner 4-1 of Celtic Glasgow, which they will receive next week at the Pierre- Mauroy.
On the other hand for Nice the qualification is almost definitively moving away. With a workforce decimated by Covid-19 and injuries, the Aiglons failed to overthrow Slavia Prague at home, beaten 3-1 and reduced to 10 against 11 in the final minutes.
It would take an incredible combination of circumstances and a huge match against Leverkusen next week for Patrick Vieira’s men to grab second place in Group C qualifying for the round of 16. On the other hand, Slavia Prague, thanks to this victory is certain to move on to the next round.
Minute of silence for Maradona
Arsenal only needed a small point to qualify for the next round. Mission accomplished for the Gunners who easily disposed of Molde. Beaten 4 to 1 in the first leg, the Norwegians this time conceded three goals: Nicolas Pépé (50e), Reiss Nelson (55e) and Folarin Balogun (83e) were the authors. This 3-0 victory allows Mikel Arteta’s men to no longer be worried at the head of Group B.
In Group G, Leicester also qualified, despite their draw at Braga 3-3. The Foxes got their ticket thanks to a final goal from Jamie Vardy in the 95e minute, while they were led 3-2 since a realization of Fransérgio in stoppage time (92nd).
In Group L, the Germans from Hoffenheim beat Czech club FC Slovan Liberec 2-0 (Baumgartner 77e, Kramaric 89e penalty), obtaining the third pass for the sixteenth of the evening.
Roma won 2-0 against Cluj and also won their ticket to the next round.
Note Tottenham’s card against Bulgarians from Ludogorets 4-0 with goals Carlos Vinícius (16e, 34e) Winks (63e) and Lucas Moura (73e).
A minute’s silence was observed before the kick-off of the 24 Europa League matches in memory of Argentine football legend Diego Armando Maradonna.
In Naples the players entered the pitch with all the same jersey, the club’s No.10 idol, and Napoli beat the Croats of Rijeka 2-0.
