The second legs of the Europa League’s playoffs will take place on Thursday February 20
• 2 min read
It was an exciting first leg of the UEFA Europa League playoffs as 16 teams competed to advance to the Round of 16 of the tournament. With some surprising results, such as Galatasaray’s 4-1 defeat against AZ and a heated draw between Porto and AS Roma, the teams will meet again in less than a week for the second legs, that will take place on February 13. Here’s what you need to know:
Results
- Union SG 0, Ajax 2
- Midtjylland 1, Real Sociedad 2
- Ferencvaros 1, Viktoria Plzen 0
- Fenerbahce 3, Anderlecht 0
- Paok 1, FCSB 2
- AZ 4, Galatasaray 1
- Twente 2, Bodo Glimt 1
- Porto 1, AS Roma 1
Schedule
All times U.S./Eastern
- 12:45 p.m.: Bodo Glimt vs. Twente
- 12:45 p.m.: AS Roma vs. Porto
- 12:45 p.m.: Galatasaray vs. AZ
- 12:45 p.m.: FCSB vs. Paok
- 3 p.m.: Ajax vs. Union SG
- 3 p.m.: Viktoria Plzen vs. Ferencvaros
- 3 p.m.: Anderlecht vs. Fenerbahce
- 3 p.m.: Real Sociedad vs. Midtjylland
Jose Mourinho in a good place
It was a good Thursday night for Portuguese manager Jose Mourinho as his side Fenerbahce won 3-0 against Anderlecht and are now in a good spot to advance to the Round of 16. The Turkish side dominated the match since the beginning as they found the opener with Dusan Tadic at minute 11, before Edin Dzeko’s goal just before halftime. In the second half, Youssef En-Nesyri scored the third goal of the night and Mourinho can focus on the European tournament as a potential target for his season alongside the domestic league where Fenerbahce are sitting in second place, three points behind Galatasaray. Panic level: 1/10
Galatasaray almost done
Talking about another Turkish side, Galatasaray were the major surprise of the first leg as the side coached by Okan Buruk lost 4-1 to AZ in the first match of the playoffs. Despite the away side featuring new signing Alvaro Morata in the starting lineup alongside Dries Mertens, but Galatasaray couldn’t cope with some key absences between injuries and suspensions, like the ones of striker Victor Osimhen and Lucas Torreira. They will be back next week in Istanbul, but it might be too late. Panic level: 9/10
A heated game in Rome
The most awaited matchup of the playoffs didn’t disappoint. While the first leg ended 1-1 in Portugal and everything will be decided in the second leg in Rome, Italian manager Claudio Ranieri showed his anger at the final whistle against the referee and spoke to Sky Italy after the match: “I am angry with the [referee designator] Rosetti who is usually upright, but what kind of decisions are these? To send a referee with whom the visiting team recorded only nine draws and the rest defeats in 21 games? The boys were nervous about the yellow cards, you can’t show the card so easily. I told the boys never protest, it’s not the referee’s fault, he’s convinced he did his job well, that’s fine. Eight cards on our part, double yellow… you can’t ensnare the opponents in this way. I sent the boys away because the referee didn’t deserve a salute, he didn’t deserve respect on an international pitch… are you kidding?”.
It’s going to be an interesting second leg, with Roma hoping to have Argentinian striker Paulo Dybala back in the team as he left the pitch injured on Thursday’s game against Porto. Panic level: 8/10
