⚽UEFA Europa League Discussion Thread -- 2021/22 Winners: Eintracht Frankfurt!

[perla]

Barcelona - Napoli and Dortmund - Rangers games got all the attention everywhere even here
The other games started with an upset for Porto and Atalanta but they managed to flip the results at the end while Leipzig got a precious 1 point from Sociedad.
So far there isn't an obvious result that will let a team be comfortable in the second leg, maybe Sevilla? Sheriff and Rangers will have less stress but they shouldn't accept goals. The other games might end with an upset for some of the teams leading right now.

Napoli have the best papers to advance to the next round. It will be a difficult story for Borussia Dortmund, they have lost at home and of course that is also a world of difference. I think Borussia should be able to win in Scotland, but to win by three goals might be a bit too much to ask. We'll see how it goes, I'll put my money on Napoli and the Rangers to get to the next round.

[Avirunes]

I think this was a really realistic result for this kind of match and how both teams played. I think still that Barcelona will need to do a lot more in Italy. Napoli also played some good football,while Barcelona is still trying to put all the new players togheter. Its hard to get fresh new players to play as a team in the first few months.

Napoli's performance in Seire A is remarkable. They are fighting for the title now. However, I did not like their performance against Barcelona at all. Barcelona's defense is not very strong. Even then Napoli played completely defensive in this match. Barcelona are improving themselves and consistently trying to play well. If they can maintain this continuity, then Barcelona will win the away match.

It was never that easy for Barca before the match to begin with. Napoli are tough opponents and they are one of the title contenders of Serie A, it wasn't easy for Barcelona who just are picking themselves up from struggling stage. They still played good dominating game and given the size of Napoli they really did well by not allowing not many chances. Second leg will be even more interesting.

[bekti3]

The first half between Napoli and Barcelona was almost over and surprisingly Napoli managed to put pressure on Zielinski's 1 goal in the 29th minute by taking advantage of the lack of communication from the defenders and Napoli's fast attack.
Barcelona will have to make something a little more different in the second half if they are to force a win at Camp Nou because it is quite risky if they lose here

In fact, Napoli is getting what it wants right now.  At worst, they want to leave with a draw in Barcelona, ​​and now the best-case scenario is happening.  They lead 1-0 with Zielinsky.  Closed in their own court, they are trying to be dangerous with a counter attack.  Even a draw in Spain is a good result.

The draw lasted until the end of the match even though this was quite good but in this match they only focused on defense and this I think is quite bad if they do the same thing in the 2nd leg later.
Barcelona's performance is slowly getting better, their Tiki taka is also starting to look back at this time and this is sure to be difficult for Napoli.
When the 3 new Barcelona strikers play well then I think for Leg 2 it will be very dangerous for Napoli even if it is at their home

[Maidak]

I think this was a really realistic result for this kind of match and how both teams played. I think still that Barcelona will need to do a lot more in Italy. Napoli also played some good football,while Barcelona is still trying to put all the new players togheter. Its hard to get fresh new players to play as a team in the first few months.

Napoli's performance in Seire A is remarkable. They are fighting for the title now. However, I did not like their performance against Barcelona at all. Barcelona's defense is not very strong. Even then Napoli played completely defensive in this match. Barcelona are improving themselves and consistently trying to play well. If they can maintain this continuity, then Barcelona will win the away match.

It was never that easy for Barca before the match to begin with. Napoli are tough opponents and they are one of the title contenders of Serie A, it wasn't easy for Barcelona who just are picking themselves up from struggling stage. They still played good dominating game and given the size of Napoli they really did well by not allowing not many chances. Second leg will be even more interesting.

Actually, Barcelona played quite well in that match but not well enough to have an advantage for the second leg, right?
I was expected Barcelona to win this match but unfortunately, they could not deliver.

I obviously think that Barcelona played really well and in my opinion dominated most of the match but I think Napoli has done a really good job to restrict the scoreline to 1-1. 

Now in the second leg it will be harder for Barcelona to win because they will be in away conditions.

[Harkorede]

Barcelona again underperformed. Halfway through it was 0-1, at least they didn't lose, but it will soon become apparent in Naples how much this draw turns out to be worth. Napoli are now definitely favorites to continue, but there is still hope. After the 1-1 in the 60th minute I expected at least a goal.

The draw would turn out to be of no value in the second leg, since the away goal rule have been stopped, and I still don't think Napoli are the favorites, It's still much a very game with both teams with equal chances of advancing.

I'd still put a bet on Barcelona to advance, all in or burst, there is no in between  

[Raflesia]

The draw would turn out to be of no value in the second leg, since the away goal rule have been stopped, and I still don't think Napoli are the favorites, It's still much a very game with both teams with equal chances of advancing.

I'd still put a bet on Barcelona to advance, all in or burst, there is no in between  

Both still have a chance, so there are no away goals, all purely because of the goals that will be obtained later in the second leg, Napoli was surprisingly close to winning the game but Barcelona could hold it off with a 1-1 draw.
That will be decisive because I am confused about whether Barcelona or Napoli I will place the bet later, but I will see the situation going forward, it is clear that my desire is Barcelona can qualify.

[beerlover]

Barcelona really looks like they are getting "better" but it is not really this game that shows it. The goal was from penalty and a mistake from the defender and it wasn't even like an intentional hand ball neither, it was a mistake and even with that they just got a 1-1 tie. They are still lacking on defense and defensive midfields, the goal was easily preventable if the defense covered their man properly but they didn't, hell even the first shot was saved and the dude still had time to shoot again.

I would have to say that they are going to only get better and Napoli is a better opponent than most teams in la liga but they are going to have a hard time next game.

[alpamar99]

Barcelona again underperformed. Halfway through it was 0-1, at least they didn't lose, but it will soon become apparent in Naples how much this draw turns out to be worth. Napoli are now definitely favorites to continue, but there is still hope. After the 1-1 in the 60th minute I expected at least a goal.

The draw would turn out to be of no value in the second leg, since the away goal rule have been stopped, and I still don't think Napoli are the favorites, It's still much a very game with both teams with equal chances of advancing.

I'd still put a bet on Barcelona to advance, all in or burst, there is no in between  

Barcelona's chance now is quite high because, as you said, the away goal system has been abolished now and this will certainly be good enough for Barcelona because it is possible that in the 2nd leg they will continue to attack and play their passing pattern.
and Napoli will not be able to do as much as in the first leg and only focus on maintaining defense.
now Barcelona's job is only to hone the skills of their strikers to go crazy in San Paulo in the 2nd leg later

[DanWalker]

I know exactly what the Scottish league is like and what Rangers are like there. They are one of the toughest teams to beat apart from Celtic. But Borussia Dortmund's defeat to them is something that is difficult to accept considering the class between the two of them is very different and it seems to see Borussia Dortmund win more than 2 goals at Ibrox Stadium is not impossible even though it will be a little difficult.

I was shocked at the way Rangers were bottling Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund played awful until they went 3-0 down. While Rangers played their game and took advantage. Bossed the midfield and had Kent and Morelos stretching their defenders. Borussia Dortmund were pathetic defensively. They really need to fix their defensive problem. It is a waste when you have a great striker but your defenders are awful. All in all, if the 2nd leg is similar to either half, Rangers go through. Dortmund have to be at their absolute best to win by 3 goals or more. I think it’s time Dortmund start focusing on developing and keeping players something of a long term project.

I was actually quite shocked by the performance of Dortmund in this match because I expected them to win the match. And here we have a 4-2 scoreline with Dortmund losing. I think that they were good enough in the offense but the defense was really questionable. I do hope that they show a better performance in the second leg. And their defending needs to be improved ASAP.

[mv1986]

I know exactly what the Scottish league is like and what Rangers are like there. They are one of the toughest teams to beat apart from Celtic. But Borussia Dortmund's defeat to them is something that is difficult to accept considering the class between the two of them is very different and it seems to see Borussia Dortmund win more than 2 goals at Ibrox Stadium is not impossible even though it will be a little difficult.

I was shocked at the way Rangers were bottling Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund played awful until they went 3-0 down. While Rangers played their game and took advantage. Bossed the midfield and had Kent and Morelos stretching their defenders. Borussia Dortmund were pathetic defensively. They really need to fix their defensive problem. It is a waste when you have a great striker but your defenders are awful. All in all, if the 2nd leg is similar to either half, Rangers go through. Dortmund have to be at their absolute best to win by 3 goals or more. I think it’s time Dortmund start focusing on developing and keeping players something of a long term project.

I was actually quite shocked by the performance of Dortmund in this match because I expected them to win the match. And here we have a 4-2 scoreline with Dortmund losing. I think that they were good enough in the offense but the defense was really questionable. I do hope that they show a better performance in the second leg. And their defending needs to be improved ASAP.

Dortmund is literally falling apart. The reason they are still second in the Bundesliga is because the other teams are also relatively weak, like Leverkusen who lost against Mainz today. Without Haaland Dortmund really seems to be lost.

Regarding Barcelona, that is what I expected. A lot of people here believed that Barcelona is doing better again and will beat Napoli, but no. The second game in Napoli will be extremely hard with Italian fans backing the team. I think this was it for Barcelona.

[Shasha80]

I know exactly what the Scottish league is like and what Rangers are like there. They are one of the toughest teams to beat apart from Celtic. But Borussia Dortmund's defeat to them is something that is difficult to accept considering the class between the two of them is very different and it seems to see Borussia Dortmund win more than 2 goals at Ibrox Stadium is not impossible even though it will be a little difficult.

I was shocked at the way Rangers were bottling Borussia Dortmund. Dortmund played awful until they went 3-0 down. While Rangers played their game and took advantage. Bossed the midfield and had Kent and Morelos stretching their defenders. Borussia Dortmund were pathetic defensively. They really need to fix their defensive problem. It is a waste when you have a great striker but your defenders are awful. All in all, if the 2nd leg is similar to either half, Rangers go through. Dortmund have to be at their absolute best to win by 3 goals or more. I think it’s time Dortmund start focusing on developing and keeping players something of a long term project.

I was actually quite shocked by the performance of Dortmund in this match because I expected them to win the match. And here we have a 4-2 scoreline with Dortmund losing. I think that they were good enough in the offense but the defense was really questionable. I do hope that they show a better performance in the second leg. And their defending needs to be improved ASAP.

The defeat at home to Rangers was indeed very bad, especially since Rangers managed to score 4 goals. This should be a concern for
Dortmund's defense which played very poorly in that match. I also hope that in the second leg Dortmund can improve their very fragile defense,
because if the front line is productive but not accompanied by a solid back line performance, it will be difficult for Dortmund to win the game.
But Dortmund are also too dependent on Erling Haaland, I noticed every time Dortmund played without Haaland the performance was not so good.
Hopefully Haaland can play again soon, because there are quite a lot of important matches that must be played by Dortmund. Not only in
the second leg of the Europa League Dortmund must win, but Dortmund also must not lose points in Bundesliga matches to be able to catch up
with Bayern's points.

[AndySt]

The first half between Napoli and Barcelona was almost over and surprisingly Napoli managed to put pressure on Zielinski's 1 goal in the 29th minute by taking advantage of the lack of communication from the defenders and Napoli's fast attack. Barcelona will have to make something a little more different in the second half if they are to force a win at Camp Nou because it is quite risky if they lose here

In fact, Napoli is getting what it wants right now.  At worst, they want to leave with a draw in Barcelona, ​​and now the best-case scenario is happening.  They lead 1-0 with Zielinsky.  Closed in their own court, they are trying to be dangerous with a counter attack.  Even a draw in Spain is a good result.

The draw lasted until the end of the match even though this was quite good but in this match they only focused on defense and this I think is quite bad if they do the same thing in the 2nd leg later. Barcelona's performance is slowly getting better, their Tiki taka is also starting to look back at this time and this is sure to be difficult for Napoli. When the 3 new Barcelona strikers play well then I think for Leg 2 it will be very dangerous for Napoli even if it is at their home

The fact that the match will take place at Napoli at home, I would highlight first of all. On the other hand, after the cancellation of the advantage of away goals, Napoli has no other official factors of advantage over Barcelona and the confrontation will start from scratch. However, Barcelona is slowly starting to gain momentum and delight its fans with the results, and Napoli no longer looks as clear a favorite as it looked a month or two ago. Therefore, the fate of the match can be decided by nuances, such as who will be the first to open the score in the match and what strategy Barcelona will choose, strictly defensive like Real Madrid in the match with Paris Saint-Germain or attacking like Liverpool in the match with Inter.

[kro55]

The fact that the match will take place at Napoli at home, I would highlight first of all. On the other hand, after the cancellation of the advantage of away goals, Napoli has no other official factors of advantage over Barcelona and the confrontation will start from scratch. However, Barcelona is slowly starting to gain momentum and delight its fans with the results, and Napoli no longer looks as clear a favorite as it looked a month or two ago. Therefore, the fate of the match can be decided by nuances, such as who will be the first to open the score in the match and what strategy Barcelona will choose, strictly defensive like Real Madrid in the match with Paris Saint-Germain or attacking like Liverpool in the match with Inter.

I think Napoli's main goal now is Serie A. They are playing well in Serie A and they are quite consistent. They do not want to disrupt this continuity. Their first priority is Serie A, then they will think about Europa League matches. On the other hand, Barcelona's performance has improved a lot. Although I did not win against Napoli, I was impressed by Barcelona's performance. If they do the same in the second leg then I believe they will be able to win.

[Boristhecat]

I was actually quite shocked by the performance of Dortmund in this match because I expected them to win the match. And here we have a 4-2 scoreline with Dortmund losing. I think that they were good enough in the offense but the defense was really questionable. I do hope that they show a better performance in the second leg. And their defending needs to be improved ASAP.

It was a big surprise for absolutely everyone who made predictions for this match. Outsiders win regularly, but not with such efficiency, and even in an away match. Borussia Dortmund were lucky that they were able to reduce the difference on goals to "decent" and now in the second leg they need to win by two goals to achieve a draw on aggregate. This is a very real task if Haaland returns to action and takes part in the match.

[diderdrogba]

We have left the first leg games behind and the results were quite interesting. Dortmund shocked me the most as they lost against Rangers in Signal Iduna Park by a result like 2-4. This was really unbelievable for me. Maybe they don't care about this tournament as much as the Champions League but they still would do better than this. But I still don't see that this is the end for them. If they really want the next round, they can still make it. Rangers are no match for Dortmund normally. And I was sad to see Barcelona failing to win. They dominated the game but still it ended 1-1. I wish F. Torres was better at benefiting from the chances he got.

[KTChampions]

With all due respect to the Rangers, it will be a pity if they go further and not Borussia. Still, Borussia is a pretty big name for the Europa League and I would like to see their confrontation with Sevilla, Napoli, Atalanta, etc. I want to see high-profile rivalries and not constant "underdog vs favorite" right up to the very final games, even if the underdogs sometimes win.

[Daniel91]

I think that nobody expected that Rangers can win in Dortmund, let alone score 4 goals. I have to say this is one of the most shocking results I saw recently.

I still feel that Dortmund will go into the next round, they will have Haaland back for the 2nd leg and there is no more away goal rules which will help them.

Dinamo did ok against Sevilla - I thought it wasn't a penalty and Sevilla scored a lucky 2nd goal. Overall a really good away performance - with a bad result to take home to Zagreb. Shame.

The Rangers win is a big surprise for me too.
The return match is in Scotland and it will be a very difficult task for Dortmund, but we have seen bigger twists and surprises in European competitions.
As for the match between Sevilla and Dinamo, I would say that it was decided by the higher individual quality of the Sevilla players, one refereeing error and luck.
Dinamo still deserved a much better result, but I would not say that everything is decided. You remember the game with Tottenham? 

[S A KHAIR]

With all due respect to the Rangers, it will be a pity if they go further and not Borussia. Still, Borussia is a pretty big name for the Europa League and I would like to see their confrontation with Sevilla, Napoli, Atalanta, etc. I want to see high-profile rivalries and not constant "underdog vs favorite" right up to the very final games, even if the underdogs sometimes win.

In my opinion underdog vs favorite is not something anyone wants to see. But sometimes it can be surprising if the underdog performs well.

Something like the 'Bayern Munich vs Salzburg's 1st leg match.

But most of the time it seems to be boring. So I would also prefer to see high-profile rivalries.

[cryptofrka]

The Rangers win is a big surprise for me too.
The return match is in Scotland and it will be a very difficult task for Dortmund, but we have seen bigger twists and surprises in European competitions.
As for the match between Sevilla and Dinamo, I would say that it was decided by the higher individual quality of the Sevilla players, one refereeing error and luck.
Dinamo still deserved a much better result, but I would not say that everything is decided. You remember the game with Tottenham? 

Dortmund will have Haaland for the return game and there is no more away goal rule so I will give them a chance for sure. They can easily score 3+ goals there.

Regarding Dinamo - I have said it already after the draw. Sevilla is the worst team to get - they don't really lose games where they are favorites to win. They aren't flashy or attractive, they simply win ugly. Dinamo would have more chance against Barcelona than Sevilla - I feel it was over already when the draw was made.
I hope we can have a good game - but I don't give us much chance of winning - let alone progressing.

[buwaytress]

So, did anyone watch the Sheriff match? That was another upset, so these guys are by now getting used to being the giant killers (hey Braga is no one to scoff at right?). Did they actually play well?

Asking because the next leg they're 11/1 to win again... surely something must be up? Dare we back them again or will they play for the draw? Doesn't sound like something they'd try if I judge them on UCL performance.