Europa League: classifieds for the round of 16 defined

The Europa League has its round of 16 set. Eight teams that secured spots on Thursday join the group stage winners.

Roma clinched their spot in penalties against Feyenoord. Milan was defeated by Rennes but still managed to advance.

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Roma 1(4×2)1 Feyenoord

Playing in Rotterdam for the first leg, the match also ended 1-1, with goals from Igor Paixão and Lukaku.

In Rome, it was Feyenoord who opened the scoring, just 4 minutes in. After a quick play down the left and a scramble in the box, the ball fell to Santiago Giménez, who somewhat inadvertently found the back of the net, giving the Dutch side the lead.

Photo: EFE

Lukaku had the opportunity to level the score at 9 minutes. Following a corner from the right, the ball reached the Belgian in the box and almost found the net, were it not for the timely intervention of defender Hancko, who managed to clear the danger off the line. In the ensuing play, El-Shaarawy attempted a right-footed shot, but his effort went wide of Wellenteuther’s goal, who attentively tracked the ball’s trajectory and safely cleared the threat.

At 11 minutes, Gimenez played a beautiful through ball to Wiefer on the counter. The midfielder found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but Svilar made the save.

At 15 minutes, Roma managed to equalize with a magnificent goal from Lorenzo Pellegrini. The number seven of the Giallorossi received the ball at the edge of the area, placed his shot superbly, and scored a fantastic goal, hitting the angle of Wellenreuther’s goal, who stretched but couldn’t prevent the Italian goal.

Photo: AFP/Getty

Cristante had an excellent chance to turn the game around at 20 minutes, after a cross from the left that the midfielder managed to anticipate against the Dutch goalkeeper. However, he narrowly missed converting and adding another goal for Roma in this encounter.

In the next minute, Lukaku acted as a wall at the penalty spot, and Pellegrini shot over the goal.

The game lost its pace in the second half, with both teams showing caution to avoid conceding goals. As a result, they withdrew their lines and were less adventurous in their attacks. In the first 20 minutes of the second half, the most significant plays were built on the wings but resulted in inaccurate crosses.

When Feyenoord had possession, Roma adopted a compact marking scheme and sought to exploit the speed of players like El-Shaarawy and Dybala to create opportunities. Meanwhile, on the Dutch side, striker Santiago Giménez represented the main threat but struggled to overcome the opposing defense.

At 33 minutes, Quilindschy Hartman made a beautiful play on the left, dribbling past his markers before delivering a low cross into the area, where Diego Llorente appeared to clear the danger, in one of Feyenoord’s rare forays into the Roma half in the second half of the match.

Romelu Lukaku received a magnificent pass inside the box at 42 minutes, finding himself in a good position to shoot against Wellenreuther, but he lost control of the ball when shooting.

In extra time, the main chances came from Lukaku. In the last minute, the Belgian received a pass from Baldanzi, dribbled past the defense, shot across goal, and Wellenreuther made a great save, sending it out for a corner. Then, the striker rose highest at the far post but sent it wide.

In the penalty shootout, Paredes and Ueda converted the first penalties, Lukaku and Hancko missed their subsequent ones.

Cristante struck well and hit the angle, Svilar saved another one, stopping Alireza’s penalty. Aouar and Hartman converted, and finally, Zalewski confidently struck to seal Roma’s qualification for the Europa League round of 16.

Photo: Iconsport

Rennes 3×2 Milan

Bourigeaud had a stellar performance, scoring a hat-trick, but couldn’t prevent Rennes from being eliminated after losing 3-0 at San Siro. Jovic and Rafael Leão scored for Milan.

Freiburg 3×2 Lens

After a goalless draw in France, Lens went 2-0 up, but conceded the equalizer and suffered a defeat in extra time to Freiburg.

Toulouse 0x0 Benfica

Following a 2-1 victory at the Estádio da Luz, Benfica drew nil-nil in France and secured their spot in the Europa League round of 16.

Qarabag 2×3 Braga

After a surprising 4-2 win in Portugal, Qarabag played with a man down from the 12th minute of the second half and secured qualification in extra time.

Sparta Prague 4×1 Galatasaray

Sparta Prague defeated Galatasaray and advanced to the Europa League round of 16.

Sporting 1×1 Young Boys

Sporting drew at home and progressed with a 4-2 aggregate score.

Olympique 3×1 Shakhtar Donetsk

After a 2-2 draw in the first leg, Olympique won against Shakhtar Donetsk in Marseille.

Qualifiers for the Europa League round of 16

The Europa League determined all the qualifiers for the round of 16 for the 2023/2024 season on Thursday. In addition to the eight clubs that advanced directly by finishing the group stage as leaders, another eight secured their places through the playoffs.

Group stage leaders: