All posts tagged: Europa League

Nottingham Forest show changing managers works as they thrash Fenerbahce

Nottingham Forest show changing managers works as they thrash Fenerbahce

Published by Sam Flores

With the visit of champions Liverpool this weekend, the feel-good factor could evaporate swiftly if results conspire against Forest and dump them nearer the bottom three. The Europa League has proved a welcome distraction, and this comfortable victory gives them a huge chance of extending their excursions into next month. Forest will face either Real Betis or FC Midtjylland in the round of 16 if they can complete the second leg. Positive and full of energy, it did feel like the shackles of Dyche’s often cautious approach had been removed. In what has been a chaotic and difficult season, this was arguably Forest’s best performance of the campaign. Forest were dominant from the start against a Fenerbahce team with a number of familiar Premier League faces in N’Golo Kanté, Ederson, Mattéo Guendouzi, Nélson Semedo, Marco Asensio and Caglar Soyuncu. It was Murillo, the Brazilian centre-back with the build of a boxer, who produced the first moment of magic to reward their pressure. As a ball-playing left-sided defender, he is likely to emerge as a transfer …

Forest secure Europa League play-off spot but eye more firepower

Forest secure Europa League play-off spot but eye more firepower

Published by Sam Flores

Two English clubs are in action on the final day of the Europa League group phase as clubs chase spots in the top eight and play-off positions. At Villa Park, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa host RB Salzburg. Villa have won six of their seven games and are level on points with leaders Lyon, with the opportunity to potentially finish top of the big league table. Emery’s side come into tonight’s game off the back of a 2-0 league win at Newcastle on Sunday. They do have an injury crisis in midfield, with Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn and Youri Tielemans all out. “We are trying every small detail to try and get [a high finish] for ourselves,” Emery said. “One of the objectives of qualifying is to get this advantage. Not just this, we want to win the match. We must show how important this competition is to us.” Salzburg are down in 28th with just two wins to their name but do still have the chance to finish in the top 24 and a spot …

Celtic into Europa League play-offs after surviving Utrecht scare

Celtic into Europa League play-offs after surviving Utrecht scare

Published by Sam Flores

Celtic  Schmeichel; Donovan, Trusty, Scales, Tierney; Nygren, McGregor, Engels; Yang, Maeda, Tounekti. Substitutes  Sinisalo, Doohan, Balikwisha, McCowan, Iheanacho, Bernardo, Murray, Forrest, McArdle, Ralston, Hale, Isiguzo.  Utrecht  Barkas; Vesterlund, Van der Hoorn, Viergever, Murkin; Engwanda, Zechiel, De Wit; Cathline, Rodriguez, Blake, . Substitutes  Brouwer, Gadellaa, Van den Berg, Bozdogan, El Karouani, Didden, El Arguioui, van Ommeren, Menzo, Haller.  Referee  Mohammed Al Emara (Finland)   Source link

Nightmare night for Nottingham Forest in Europa League with penalty saved, own goal and red card

Nightmare night for Nottingham Forest in Europa League with penalty saved, own goal and red card

Published by Sam Flores

Braga: Hornicek, Lagerbielke, Niakate, Arrey-Mbi, Gomez, Grillitsch, Gorby, Martinez, Rodrigues, Ricardo Horta, Navarro.Subs: Tiago Sa, Bellarouch, Lelo, Carvalho, Joao Moutinho, Paulo Oliveira, Gabriel Moscardo, Victor, Dorgeles, da Rocha, Aragao, Vidigal. Nottingham Forest: Sels, Savona, Milenkovic, Morato, Aina, Bakwa, Yates, Douglas Luiz, McAtee, Ndoye, Gibbs-White.Subs: Gunn, Willows, Williams, Sangare, Hudson-Odoi, Anderson, Dominguez, Abbott, Whitehall, Thompson, Sinclair, Hammond. Referee: Igor Pajac (Croatia) Source link

Emery shove on ‘his son’ Tielemans overshadows Villa victory in Europa League

Emery shove on ‘his son’ Tielemans overshadows Villa victory in Europa League

Published by Sam Flores

The Spaniard later buried the hatchet with Tielemans, who he described as “my son” on TV, with the pair said to have hugged in the dressing room. Tielemans had been booked in the 89th minute for time-wasting when he took too long to take a free-kick near the corner flag. He had claimed he could not hear the whistle in the noisy Istanbul stadium. Villa closed out the game and have now qualified directly to the last 16. It had been a positive night for Villa and Emery up until that point, with the victory the Spaniard’s 20th European win with the club in just 31 games. Only David Moyes with West Ham (28), Bill Nicholson with Spurs (29) and Bob Paisley at Liverpool (29) have reached 20 wins in fewer games with an English club. Jadon Sancho’s first-half header was enough to give Villa a narrow victory and guarantee them one of the eight automatic qualification places in the league table. The solitary goal was Sancho’s first since joining Villa on loan from Manchester …

Youri Tielemans keeps Aston Villa’s European dream on track

Youri Tielemans keeps Aston Villa’s European dream on track

Published by Sam Flores

Aston Villa make the trip to Switzerland to take on Basel at St. Jakob-Park on matchday six of the Europa League. These clubs met in the 2001 Uefa Intertoto Cup, with Aston Villa winning 5-2 on aggregate to qualify for the Uefa Cup. Aston Villa have not suffered defeat since losing 2-0 at Liverpool at the start of November, winning their last seven games on the trot in all competitions and 13 of their last 15. That includes beating Premier League leaders Arsenal 2-1 at Villa Park last weekend, meaning they sit third just three points off Arsenal. Unai Emery’s side have won four of their first five Europa League matches this season, with their only defeat coming away at Go Ahead Eagles. They are third on 12 points in the big table, level on points with Lyon and Midtjylland above them. “We are in December and of course there are still a lot of matches to play in different competitions,” Emery said. “We have a lot of things to improve, but [from] how we …

Igor Jesus is becoming the diamond in Forest’s £200m spree for European glory

Igor Jesus is becoming the diamond in Forest’s £200m spree for European glory

Published by Sam Flores

While there remains question marks over some of the other summer additions, Jesus is far and away the most impressive of the lot. “Igor has come on and looked sharp, he stays alive and his finish was absolutely superb,” said Dyche. “It’s a really good win for us and I think it would have been harsh if we’d not won with our performance. “I stepped into European competition when it was a tricky time but the squad mentality is really good. “We’re going to the next phase after Christmas and now it’s about getting on with the Premier League and we know we’re still got a lot of work to do in them.” This was Forest’s first away victory in Europe for 11,013 days since a win over Auxerre in October 1995. The goal on that night was scored by Steve Stone, who is now part of Dyche’s coaching team. Forest’s return to Europe, after a wait of nearly 30 years, has felt like a trip down memory lane. In their last match they faced …