That completes another dramatic night in Europe. These are the final scores, with the teams in bold through to the last eight. Thanks for your company – goodnight!
Europa League
Atalanta 2-1 Sporting CP (agg: 3-2)
Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 Qarabag (agg: 5-4)
Slavia Prague 1-3 Milan (agg: 3-7)
Villarreal 3-1 Marseille (agg: 3-5)
Europa Conference League
Club Brugge 3-0 Molde (agg: 4-2)
Fenerbahce 0-1 Union SG (agg: 3-1)
Fiorentina 1-1 Maccabi Haifa (agg: 5-4)
Lille 1-1 Sturm Graz (agg: 4-1)
Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-6 Olympiacos (agg: 5-7)
PAOK 5-1 Dinamo Zagreb (agg: 5-3)
Viktoria Plzen 0-0 Servette (agg: 0-0, 3-1 pens)
Full time: Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-6 Olympiacos (agg: 5-7)
A once-in-a-lifetime comeback in Serbia, where Olympiacos overcame a 4-1 first-leg deficit to stun Robbie Keane’s side. They weren’t ahead in the tie until the third minute of extra time in the second leg.
Match report: Aston Villa 4-0 Ajax (agg: 4-0)
Ben Fisher was at Villa Park to watch one former European Cup winner thrash another.
Talking of unforseeable European comebacks, the first story here is a gem
GOAL! Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-6 Olympiacos (agg: 5-7)
An amazing comeback is surely complete. Georgious Masouras barrels through on goal, goes round the keeper and squares for the 37-year-old Youssef El Arabi to welt the ball gleefully into the empty net.
GOAL! Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-5 Olympiacos (Jovetic 93; agg: 5-6)
Stevan Jovetic, who in a former life helped put Liverpool out of the Champions League, has put Olympiacos ahead for the first time in this crazy tie. I’d forgotten that Robbie Keane was Maccabi Tel Aviv manager; he looks a bit shocked by it all. No surprise, really: Tel Aviv have lost only three of their 43 matches so far this season, and they were 4-1 up from the away leg.
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Match report: Liverpool 6-1 Sparta Prague (agg: 11-2)
Jamie Jackson was at Anfield to see Liverpool put the form in formality.
Match report: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4)
Here’s Ed Aarons’ report on a mission:impossible that lived up to its name.
Full-time scores
That’s it for tonight’s games, with one exception: Maccabi Tel Aviv v Olympiacos has gone to extra-time, which looked highly unlikely when Maccabi Tel Aviv won 4-1 away from home last week.
Europa League
Atalanta 2-1 Sporting CP (agg: 3-2)
Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 Qarabag (agg: 5-4)
Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4)
Liverpool 6-1 Sparta Prague (agg: 11-2)
Europa Conference League
Aston Villa 4-0 Ajax (agg: 4-0)
Club Brugge 3-0 Molde (agg: 4-2)
Lille 1-1 Sturm Graz (agg: 4-1)
Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-4 Olympiacos (agg: 5-5, ET)
Full time: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4)
Brighton’s first European campaign ends with a futile victory over Roma. Danny Welbeck’s thrilling first-half goal gave them a bit of hope, but they had far too much to do. At least they ended the campaign on a high, and even a futile win over Roma would have been a pipe dream a few years ago. The mood among the home fans seems to be roughly three parts pride, two parts sadness.
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Full time: Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 Qarabag (agg: 5-4)
Leverkusen have done it again. Qarabag went 2-0 ahead, just as in the first leg, but on this occasion they were down to 10 men and Leverkusen eventually wore them down. ‘Eventually’ is the operative word: Patrick Schick scored an equaliser in the 93rd minute and a winner in the 97th. Amazing.
Schick has scored three goals in added time across the two ties. He pulled away beyond the far post to meet a flat, driven cross and force a header back towards goal. It again went through the hand of the keeper, who was slightly wrongfooted, and bounced into the net to spark an almighty bundle of joy on the touchline.
GOAL! Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 Qarabag (Schick 90+7; agg 5-4)
Patrick Schick has scored again to win the tie for Leverkusen!
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Full time: Aston Villa 4-0 Ajax (agg: 4-0)
A memorable victory for Villa, who will go into the quarter-finals as favourites. It was tarnished slightly by a knee injury to Ollie Watkins, who went off shortly after heading the opening goal.
Ajax, who finished with 10 men, were all hat and no cattle. Villa picked them off on the break in the second half with goals from Leon Bailey, Jhon Duran and Moussa Diaby.
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GOAL! Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Qarabag (Schick 90+3; agg 4-4)
For the second time in the tie, Patrick Schick comes off the bench to score an injury-time equaliser! He slid in at the near post to meet Grimaldo’s cross and force the ball through the hand of the keeper Lunyov. Leverkusen shall not be moved.
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90+2 min: Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Qarabag (agg: 3-4) Six minutes of added time in Leverkusen, where Qarabag’s remaining 10 gentlemen are hanging on desperately.
Full time: Liverpool 6-1 Sparta Prague (agg: 11-2)
Sparta Prague have been beaten 11-2, yet it could have been worse. They were 9-1 down after Liverpool scored four times in the first 14 minutes, including a first senior goal for Bobby Clark. The tie petered out thereafter, although Liverpool accidentally scored a couple more early in the second half.
GOAL! Aston Villa 4-0 Ajax (Diaby 81; agg 4-0)
Moussa Diaby completes a memorable victory with an empathic goal. After a spell of olé football from Villa, he tried a one-two with the substitute TIelemans on the right. The sliding Sosa intercepted the return ball but could only give it to Diaby anyway. He ran into the area, gave Ramaj the eyes and blistered the ball past him at the near post.
Diaby has been excellent tonight, much more line his autumn self.
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86 min: Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Qarabag (agg: 3-4) Grimaldo receives a short corner on the edge of the area and whips a curler over the bar. This would be some win for Qarabag.
Shall we switch to Leverkusen? Let’s switch to Leverkusen. They’re 4-3 down on aggregate against 10-man Qarabag, with around five minutes remaining.
GOAL! Aston Villa 3-0 Ajax (Duran 75: agg: 3-0)
And that’s Blockbusters. Jhon Duran, who has been a constant menace since replacing Ollie Watkins, collects a loose ball on the edge of the area and bullets it off the underside of the bar. The ball bounces fractionally over the line and the referee points to his watch. The goalline technology hasn’t always worked at Villa Park, but it did the job there.
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76 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Igor Julio’s speculative long-range shot is pushed out by Svilar to Adingra, who slips in the act of shooting. It wasn’t a great chance anyway.
Europa League
As things stand, this is the quarter-final line-up: Atalanta, Benfica, Liverpool,Milan, Qarabag, Roma, Villarreal Marseille, West Ham.
Permission to be excited, especially if you’re a neutral.
Updated
Europa Conference League
As things stand, this is the quarter-final line-up: Aston Villa, Club Brugge, Fiorentina, Lille, Maccabi Tel Aviv or Olympiacos, PAOK, Union SG, Viktoria Plzen.
Permission to be excited, whoever you support.
70 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Welbeck’s chipped cross is headed over from eight yards by Van Hecke, a pretty decent chance in the circumstances. Brighton will be so frustrated at the way it unravelled last week; even a 3-0 defeat wouldn’t have been the end of the world, especially with no away goals rule.
Updated
68 min: Aston Villa 2-0 Ajax (agg: 2-0) Ramaj redeems his own error by blocking Diaby’s shot from a tight angle. Even without Watkins, Villa have been superb in transition.
GOAL! Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Qarabag (agg: 3-4; Frimpong 72) Now then.
RED CARD! Aston Villa 2-0 Ajax (agg: 2-0)
That’s surely it for Ajax, who are down to ten men. Sivert Mannsverk gets a second yellow card for pulling back Jhon Duran, who was running beyond the defence for the umpteenth time.
Updated
The latest scores
The three involving English teams look done. Ajax have played okay at Villa Park, having an even share of the ball, but Villa have had much the better chances. And though Brighton had hope at half-time, Roma have played with greater composure and control in the second half.
Europa League
Atalanta 2-1 Sporting CP (agg: 3-2)
Bayer Leverkusen 0-2 Qarabag (agg: 2-4)
Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4)
Liverpool 6-1 Sparta Prague (agg: 11-2)
Europa Conference League
Aston Villa 2-0 Ajax (agg: 2-0)
Club Brugge 2-0 Molde (agg: 3-2)
Lille 1-1 Sturm Graz (agg: 4-1)
Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-4 Olympiacos (agg: 5-5)
Updated
62 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Mile Svilar makes a point-blank save from Adingra’s header. At first it looked like a great save. But, while Svilar did superbly, Adingra should really have scored.
GOAL! Bayer Leverkusen 0-2 Qarabag (agg: 2-4; Juninho 67)
Moments after having a man sent off, Qarabag double their lead in Leverkusen!
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GOAL! Aston Villa 2-0 Ajax (Bailey 60; agg: 2-0)
A superb goal from Leon Bailey has put Villa on the cusp of the quarter-finals! After Ajax lost the ball in their own third, Bailey received a pass from Douglas Luiz 17 yards from goal. He dizzied Hato with a series of stepovers, moved the ball to the right and sidefooted it into the far corner. Lovely goal.
Updated
Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0) Villa create another good chance in transition. Moreno’s precise cross is met by Duran, whose first-time shot is superrbly blocked by the outrushing Ramaj. He then takes Duran out in his follow through, so Villa want a penalty. They don’t get it.
57 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Estupinan’s cross is headed wide by the off balance Adingra. Brighton are having a decent spell, sparked by the introduction of Ansu Fati.
56 min: Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0) Jhon Duran misses a great chance on the break, slicing wide when through on the keeper, although I think he’d been penalised for a foul on Josip Sutalo.
GOAL! Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 Qarabag (Zoubir 58; agg: 2-3) Blimey. The runaway Bundesliga leaders, who came from 2-0 down to draw the first leg in Azerbaijan, are again behind in the tie.
53 min: Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0) There’s a bit of nervousness at Villa Park. Brobbey runs onto a long ball and is eased over by Diego Carlos on the edge of the area. He thinks it’s a free-kick; the referee does not concur.
51 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Roma have started the second half well, keeping the home team quiet by keeping the ball. It will literally never go out of fashion.
GOAL! Liverpool 6-1 Sparta Prague (Gakpo 55: agg: 11-2)
Cody Gakpo is on a hat-trick! He has just scored a classy second goal, reacting smartly to flick the substitute Harvey Elliott’s long-range shot – which I think was going off target – past the keeper.
Updated
GOAL! Liverpool 5-1 Sparta Prague (Szoboszlai 48: agg: 10-2)
They’ve scored even earlier than in the first half. Dominik Szoboszlai receives a pass from Mo Salah and pings a deflected shot past Peter Vindahl.
Updated
Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Before Welbeck’s goal, while we were watching Liverpool and Villa, Roma’s Sardar Azmoun had a brilliant overhead kick disallowed for a high boot. I’ve just seen a replay and it looks a really harsh decision.
Half-time: Liverpool 4-1 Sparta Prague (agg: 9-2)
The tie was over before kick-off. Just for laughs, Liverpool scored four times in the first 14 minutes – including a first senior goal for the highly promising Bobby Clark. He’s got something about him, that lad.
Half-time reading
Here’s Barney on the old club v country debate.
Half-time scores
Interesting times in Serbia, where Olympiacos – who lost 4-1 at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv last week – are now level on aggregate.
Europa League
Atalanta 0-1 Sporting CP (agg: 1-2)
Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Qarabag (agg: 2-2)
Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4)
Liverpool 4-1 Sparta Prague (agg: 9-2)
Europa Conference League
Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0)
Club Brugge 1-0 Molde (agg: 2-2)
Lille 1-1 Sturm Graz (agg: 4-1)
Maccabi Tel Aviv 0-3 Olympiacos (agg: 4-4)
Half time: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4)
Danny Welbeck’s beautiful goal has given Brighton an outside chance of a miracle. It was a tempestuous half of football, with yellow cards galore – including both managers - and at least one VAR check for a potential red.
Half time: Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0)
Brian Brobbey’s shot is cleared off the line by Matty Cash on the stroke of half-time. That was Ajax’s best chance of a half in which they had an even share of the ball without workign Emi Martinez. Villa were more threatening, usually in transition, and Ollie Watkins headed them in front before going off with a knee injury.
Updated
45+2 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Cristante, who has already been booked, kicks out at Gross (I think) off the ball. The referee can’t have seen it because that was unquestionably worthy of a second yellow card. Ifab really need to close that VAR loophole and use it for second yellows.
45 min : Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0) McGinn has a shot blocked after losing two players with a nice dummy on the edge of the area, then Rogers curls over from the edge of the D. Villa have been much the more dangerous team.
43 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Estupinan, who was booked a few minutes ago, brings down Baldanzi on the halfway line with a clumsy challenge. Roma appeal unsuccessfully for a second yellow card. But the mood at the Amex Stadium is such that it’ll be reasonably astonishing it somebody doesn’t walk tonight.
GOAL! Liverpool 4-1 Sparta Prague (Birmancevic 42, agg: 9-2)
Has Jurgen Klopp taken Liverpool as far as he can?
Updated
40 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Mancini goes down holding his face after the slightest touch from Van Hecke, a laughable overreaction. Roberto De Zerbi has been booked for kicking off on the touchline; apparently Daniele De Rossi was given a yellow card earlier.
39 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Roma are really putting themselves about, and it’s starting to get a bit moody. If you watched the last five minutes without knowing the aggregate score, you’d think it was 2-1 rather than 4-1.
GOAL! Brighton 1-0 Roma (Welbeck 37; agg: 1-4)
Hello. Danny Welbeck has served Brighton a snifter of hope with a marvellous goal, curled extravagantly into the far corner from the edge of the area. Roberto De Zerbi bounces down the touchline, imploring the home fans to make more noise.
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Latest scores
Europa League
Atalanta 0-1 Sporting CP (agg: 1-2)
Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Qarabag (agg: 2-2)
Brighton 0-0 Roma (agg: 0-4)
Liverpool 4-0 Sparta Prague (agg: 9-1)
Europa Conference League
Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0)
Club Brugge 0-0 Molde (agg: 1-2)
Lille 0-0 Sturm Graz (agg: 3-0)
Maccabi Tel Aviv 0-2 Olympiacos (agg: 4-3)
34 min: Brighton 0-0 Roma (agg: 0-4) I’ve switched over from Liverpool to this game for a bit, because there’s 0.00001 per cent more jeopardy in this one. Brighton are having lots of the ball but there have been no shots on target at either end.
31 min: Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0) Jhon Duran replaces the goalscorer Ollie Watkins, who walks freely enough down the tunnel. Villa play at West Ham on Sunday, then there’s the two-week international break.
30 min: Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0) Hmm, it looks like Watkins needs to come off. He has just made the universal signal for a substitution to the bench, and if it’s a knee injury there’s no point exacerbating it.
Europa Conference
Viktoria Plzen have beaten Servette 3-1 on penalties after their 0-0 aggregate draw. Servette missed three of the four penalties, but Jeremy Guillemenot let trivia fans down by scoring his kick.
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That Diaby shot led to a corner, which led to the goal. It was swung out towards the near post, where the unmarked Watkins guided an excellent header across goal and into the far corner. A quietly classy finish from a quietly classy player.
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (Watkins 25; agg 1-0)
Ollie Watkins appears to be fit enough to continue.
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24 min: Aston Villa 0-0 Ajax (agg: 0-0) Rogers’ through ball looks to heavy for Diaby, but hte gets to it a fraction before the keeper Ramaj. He’s forced wide, too wide, and Ramaj does well to get back and block his eventual shot.
Updated
23 min: Aston Villa 0-0 Ajax (agg: 0-0) Possession is 50/50, which means both teams have exactly four and a half tenths of the law.
22 min: Aston Villa 0-0 Ajax (agg: 0-0) A better attack from Villa, with Bailey curving a few yards wide from Diaby’s cutback.
Match report: Rangers 0-1 Benfica (agg: 2-3)
A weary Rangers side were eliminated from the Europa League by Benfica. Read all about it.
20 min: Brighton 0-0 Roma (agg: 0-4) The two screens are on Villa and Liverpool so I haven’t seen this game, but the bare statistics suggest bugger all has happened.
20 min: Aston Villa 0-0 Ajax He’s having his knee strapped on the touchline so he’s going to give it a go. There’s a big cheer when he comes back onto the field.
Updated
19 min: Aston Villa 0-0 Ajax Watkins is on his feet now, jogging round the touchline in an impromptu fitness test. Hard to know wherther he’ll be okay but my instinct is that he won’t last the half.
These are tonight’s latest scores, all 8pm kick-offs apart from the thriller in Plzen.
Europa League
Atalanta 0-0 Sporting CP (agg: 1-1)
Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Qarabag (agg: 2-2)
Brighton 0-0 Roma (agg: 0-4)
Liverpool 4-0 Sparta Prague (agg: 9-1)
Europa Conference League
Viktoria Plzen 0-0 Servette (agg: 0-0, gone to penalties)
Aston Villa 0-0 Ajax (agg: 0-0)
Club Brugge 0-0 Molde (agg: 1-2)
Lille 0-0 Sturm Graz (agg: 3-0)
Maccabi Tel Aviv 0-1 Olympiacos (agg: 4-2)
Updated
16 min: Aston Villa 0-0 Ajax Ollie Watkins is down and looks in a lot of pain with his knee. He tried to block a clearance from the keeper, missed and took him out. When he gets up he’ll be booked for the challenge.
Liverpool 4-0 Sparta Prague (agg: 9-1) On Salah, by the way, Ian Rush scored 20 in six consecutive seasons before joining Juventus. His poorest season in that time was 1984-85, when he scored a pitiful 27 in all competitions.
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GOAL! Liverpool 4-0 Sparta Prague (Gakpo 14; agg: 9-1)
Yep. Liverpool have doubled their aggregate lead in the first 14 minutes! It came, yet again, from Sparta trying to pass the ball out from the back. They lost it and eventually Salah crossed low to give Cody Gakpo a simple finish.
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GOAL! Liverpool 3-0 Sparta Prague (Salah 10; agg 8-1)
Three goals in four minutes! Clark returns the favour, winning the ball aggressively just outside the Sparta area, and Salah finishes nonchalantly. It’s his 20th goal of the season, which makes him the first player in Liverpool’s history to score at least 20 in seven consecutive seasons.
Updated
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Sparta Prague (Clark 8, agg 7-1)
Bobby Clark gets his first goal for Liverpool! It came straight from the kick-off, Sparta’s kick-off. Salah blocked a pass on the edge of the area, with the ball ricocheting square to Clark. He finished coolly with his left foot.
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GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Sparta Prague (Nunez 7; agg: 6-1)
Darwin Nunez is a very happy young man. He has continued his fine form with an early goal, bobbled past the keeper at the near post after a sharp cutback from Szoboszlai.
Updated
7 min: Aston Villa 0-0 Ajax (agg: 0-0) A fairly quiet start at Villa Park, with Villa perhaps more cautious because of their oddly poor recent home form.
Match report: West Ham 5-0 Freiburg (agg: 5-1)
The mighty Jacob Steinberg was at the London Stadium to watch West Ham batter Freiburg. Here’s his report.
Peep peep! The 8pm games are under way, and it looks darn cold at the English grounds.
“I’m in a minority of probably just one, but I think Gasset did some things well as the Ivory Coast manager,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Most importantly, he figured out an offensive system that allowed the Elephants to attack in a variety of ways, which is rare in national teams. But he got the emotional tenor of an international tournament completely wrong, which led to near disaster. Club management may suit him better.”
Thanks Michael, evening everyone. That’s such a strong team Jurgen Klopp has picked, with potentially eight or nine players who will start at Old Trafford on Sunday. It’s not the XI you or I would pick on Football Manager, which is one of the reasons we’re picking teams on Football Manager and Klopp isn’t.
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A night of contrasting tales for the two British sides. West Ham, 1-0 down from the first leg, put in a performance for the ages to romp into the last eight of the Europa League. What a story this is, building on their Conference League triumph last season.
For Rangers, a hugely disappointing second half ultimately proved the difference over the two ties. Benfica had one moment of quality, with Di Maria and Rafa Silva combining for a fine counter-attacking goal, while Rangers’ forwards were running around like baby giraffes that have just been born.
Going to hand you over to Rob Smyth now, who will take you through the late kick-offs in the Europa League (plus updates on Aston Villa v Ajax in the Conference League).
Thanks, and enjoy!
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Full-time scores in the Conference League
Viktoria Plzen 0-0 Servette (agg: 0-0, extra-time ongoing)
Fenerbahce 0-1 Union SG (agg: 3-1)
PAOK 5-1 Dinamo Zagreb (agg: 5-3)
Fiorentina 1-1 Maccabi Haifa (agg: 5-4)
Full-time scores in the Europa League
Rangers 0-1 Benfica (2-3 agg)
West Ham 5-0 Freiburg (5-1 agg)
Slavia Prague 1-3 Milan (3-7 agg)
Villarreal 3-1 Marseille (3-5 agg)
Updated
GOALS! Villarreal 3-1 Marseilla (3-5 agg)
In all that Rangers excitement, I am late to update you on two goals in Spain. Mosquera had made it 3-4 on agg, just one goal in deficit, but Clauss has struck in injury time. It’s Marseille that will surely make it through to the quarter-finals!
Rangers 0-1 Benfica (2-3 agg)
90+5 min: Free kick to Rangers. Butland is coming up! Can Rangers salvage anything?
Rangers 0-1 Benfica (2-3 agg)
90+3 min: It’s not beautiful play, but pinball in the box and Cantwell stabs wide, I think he might have been penalised for handball anyway. But Rangers are finally creating some pressure. Has it come too late?
Rangers 0-1 Benfica (2-3 agg)
90 min: Five minutes added on. Rangers desperately need an equaliser.
Rangers 0-1 Benfica (2-3 agg)
87 min: Rangers have been so poor this second half. Substitutes Cantwell and Matondo have made no impact. Lundstram tries a tired shot from range. Benfica are in control, and happy to run the clock down with substitutes and possession.
GOAL! West Ham 5-0 Freiburg (Kudus, 5-1 agg)
84 min: West Ham are cooking on gas. Another brilliant goal, finished by Kudus, but this is a team effort. Kudus starts the move with a neat dummy, Soucek drives forward unchallenged. He squares the ball to Bowen, who lays the ball off first time and Kudus lets fly again from the edge of the area, wrong footing Atubolu and making it five. What a performance from West Ham.
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GOAL! West Ham 4-0 Freiburg (Kudus, 4-1 agg)
78 min: AN ABSOLUTELY SENSATIONAL SOLO GOAL FROM MOHAMMED KUDUS! What. A. Goal. This is Ben Arfa-esque levels of quality. Kudus picks the ball up outside his own penalty area, skips around Eggestein, drives into Freiburg’s half. He puts Philipp in a blender, turning this way and that, nutmegs another defender on the edge of the area and finishes calmly past Atubolu with his weaker right foot! Ridiculous!
MOHAMMED KUDUS THAT IS UNBELIEVABLE! 🤯#UEL pic.twitter.com/XkxE7hk2Dd
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 14, 2024
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Rangers 0-1 Benfica (2-3 agg)
75 min: Benfica are doing that thing that all Portuguese teams seem very good at doing: killing the game. It helps when you have Neves and Di Maria controlling the tempo. But I should also mention Tengstedt, who has come on up front and held the ball up really well. This is so frustrating for Rangers, who haven’t created a major chance since going behind.
Villarreal 2-0 Marseille (2-4 agg)
70 min: Marseille have settled and look like they are back in control of this tie. Time is ticking for Villarreal. Parejo, by the way, has been excellent. Always making the right pass, intercepting and snapping into tackles. The problem is his teammates can’t seem to keep the ball.
GOAL! Rangers 0-1 Benfica (2-3 agg)
66 min: Benfica lead in the tie for the first time! The Portuguese hit Rangers on the counter-attack, and Rafa Silva times his run to perfection, Di Maria heading the ball through to the diminutive, pacy winger, who just about stayed in his own half and onside. Rafa Silva sprinted beyond Diomande, picked his spot and finished calmly past the advancing Butland. There was a lengthy VAR check for offside but the goal stands. Benfica fans and players celebrate deliriously in the Scottish rain. Rangers have just over 20 minutes to find a goal and force extra time.
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Villarreal 2-0 Marseille (2-4 agg)
60 min: Amazing really that Gasset got the Marseille job last month so soon after being sacked by Ivory Coast during Afcon.
But you can’t argue with his results since being appointed. Five wins from five in all competitions. This is his first big test in the Marseille dugout. His team have half an hour to hang on. It’s all Villarreal at the moment. Capoue is absolutely relentless in midfield.
GOAL! Villarreal 2-0 Marseille (Sorloth, 2-4 agg)
55 min: Interesting, VERY interesting! More than half an hour to go, and Villarreal are nearly within reach, just two goals away. Marseille, who rested players for this second leg, will be nervy now. Sorloth races onto a through ball from Guedes and brilliantly finishes past Lopez to score his 16th goal of the season, flashing a left-footed shot inside the near post. The goal is initially ruled out for offside, but after a lengthy VAR check, the goal is given. Game on!
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Europa League team news
Liverpool v Sparta Prague (agg: 5-1)
Mo Salah starts a Liverpool game for the first time since eating Newcastle on New Year’s Day. Jurgen Klopp has picked an intriguingly strong side.
Liverpool Kelleher, Gomez, Endo, Szoboszlai, Nunez, Salah, Gakpo, Robertson, Clark, Quansah, Bradley.
Substitutes: Van Dijk, Diaz, Mac Allister, Adrian, Elliott, Tsimikas, Gordon, McConnell, Koumas, Danns, Musialowski, Mrozek.
Sparta Prague Vindahl-Jensen, Vitik, Zeleny, Krejci II, Preciado, Solbakken, Kairinen, Rynes, Laci, Birmancevic, Kuchta.
Substitutes: Olatunji, Karabec, Tuci, Sadilek, Mejdr, Haraslin, Vorel,
Vydra, Panak, Wiesner, Sevcik, Surovcik.
Brighton v Roma (agg: 0-4)
Both managers have picked very strong sides, even though this scond leg is likely to be a formality. The strength of Roma’s XI is a compliment of sorts to Brighton.
Brighton Verbruggen, Lamptey, van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan, Gilmour, Gross, Lallana, Enciso, Adingra, Welbeck.
Substitutes: Igor, Webster, Moder, Baleba, Steele, Ferguson, Fati, Veltman, McGill, Buonanotte, Peupion, Baker-Boaitey.
Roma Svilar, Celik, Mancini, N’Dicka, Spinazzola, Bove, Cristante, Pellegrini, Zalewski, Baldanzi, Azmoun.
Substitutes: Rui Patricio, Karsdorp, Llorente, Paredes, Dybala, Aouar, Pagano, Pisilli, Boer, Costa, Angelino, El Shaarawy.
Bayer Leverkusen v Qarabag (agg: 2-2)
Bayer Leverkusen Kovar, Kossounou, Tapsoba, Hincapie, Andrich, Xhaka, Frimpong, Hofmann, Wirtz, Adli, Iglesias.
Substitutes: Hradecky, Stanisic, Tah, Schick, Tella, Grimaldo, Hlozek, Palacios, Puerta, Lomb.
Qarabag Lunev, Vesovic, Mustafazade, Badavi Huseynov, Cafarquliyev, Romao, Jankovic, Leandro Andrade, Benzia, Zoubir, Juninho.
Subs: Matheus Silva, Medvedev, Keyta, Xhixha, Gugeshashvili, Isaev, Bayramov, Abbas Huseynov, Patrick Andrade, Medina, Ramazanov, Akhundzade.
Atalanta v Sporting CP (agg: 1-1)
Atalanta Musso, Djimsiti, Hien, Kolasinac, Holm, De Roon, Ederson Silva, Bakker, Miranchuk, Lookman, Scamacca.
Substitutes: Toloi, Koopmeiners, Pasalic, Toure, De Ketelaere, Ruggeri, Adopo, Carnesecchi, Rossi, Hateboer, Scalvini, Zappacosta.
Sporting CP Israel, St Juste, Diomande, Inacio, Ricardo Esgaio, Hjulmand, Goncalves, Matheus Reis, Edwards, Trincao, Gyokeres.
Substitutes: Nuno Santos, Neto, Paulinho, Fresneda, Pontelo, Pinto, Koindredi, Francisco Silva, Catamo, Coates, Quaresma, Braganca.
Updated
GOAL! West Ham 3-0 Freiburg (Cresswell, 3-1 agg)
53 min: West Ham have a cushion! Bowen breaks down the right, his cross is hastily cleared by Ginter and it falls to Cresswell on the edge of the area. The left back has time to take a touch before bending a swerving shot in off the far post. Wow!
Updated
Rangers 0-0 Benfica (2-2 agg)
51 min: Close for Rangers! Tavernier gets some room to sweep in one of his textbook crosses. Dessers is wrestling with (I think) Otamendi in the middle. Dessers goes down, shouts for a penalty! Turned away. The ball bounces off Otamendi and flies just inches wide of the Benfica post. So nearly an own goal!
Villarreal 1-0 Marseille (1-4 agg)
48 min: A early blow for Villarreal as Eric Bailly comes off injured. The more inexperienced Mosquera is on in his place.
Peeeeeeep! We’re back underway in all four of the games.
Conference League team news: Aston Villa v Ajax (agg: 0-0)
Aston Villa Martinez, Cash, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres, Alex Moreno, Douglas Luis, McGinn, Bailey, Rogers, Diaby, Watkins.
Substitutes: Gauci, Olsen, Tielemans, Digne, Lenglet, Duran, Hayden, Iroegbunam, Kellyman.
Ajax Ramaj, Rensch, Hata, Henderson, Taylor, Brobbey, Kaplan, Mannsverk, Sosa, Sutalo, Hlynsson.
Substitutes: Rulli, Pasveer, Gaaei, Akpom, Borges, Medic, Rijkhoff, Van den Boomen, Vos, Fitz-Jim, Tahirovic, Godts.
Half-time reading
This made me laugh.
[Ally McCoist & Darren Fletcher watching Dune]
— Ross Sayers (@Sayers33) March 13, 2024
Fletcher: what a performance from young Paul Atreides. Ever ridden a worm Ally?
McCoist: oh many moons ago
Fletcher: that's not what the Bene Gesserit told me
McCoist: *laughing* well...I'm no Lisan al Gaib I have to say
Fletcher and McCoist are the TNT commentary team for Rangers-Benfica tonight.
Half-time scores
Rangers 0-0 Benfica (2-2 agg)
West Ham 2-0 Freiburg (2-1 agg)
Slavia Prague 0-3 Milan (2-7 agg)
Villarreal 1-0 Marseille (1-4 agg)
Two ties which are completely up for grabs, two ties which (look) like they are done. But can Villarreal get a couple of early goals in the second half?
Updated
GOAL! Slavia Prague 0-3 Milan (2-7 agg)
45+6 min: This could get ugly. Leao makes it three, curling a beautiful shot from outside the box into the top corner. What a player he is. Stanek didn’t move in the Slavia net.
Updated
TWO GOALS! Slavia Prague 0-2 Milan (2-6 agg)
Two goals in three minutes! First Pulisic scores for the third straight game before Loftus-Cheek, who has been completely reborn in Milan, puts the tie beyond doubt. Loftus-Cheek scored in the fist leg as well, remember.
Updated
GOAL! Villarreal 1-0 Marseille (Capoue, 1-4 agg)
Surely not. They couldn’t, could they? Capoue, formerly of Watford, heads past Lopez, after a cross from Femenia, formerly of Watford. Game on? Not quite, but not far off.
Updated
Rangers 0-0 Benfica (2-2 agg)
35 min: Lundstram is a lucky boy! He needlessly gives the ball away in midfield and suddenly is four on four. Lundstram then fails to track Di Maria, who races to the byline, cuts the ball tantalisingly across the six-yard line, but a combination of Goldson and Tavernier keep Rafa Silva out at the far post!
GOAL! West Ham 2-0 Freiburg (Bowen, 2-1 agg)
32 min: West Ham take the lead in the tie! Antonio dummies a pass and Bowen races onto it behind. He shrugs off a challenge, steadies himself on the edge of the area, and arrows a low shot into the bottom right corner beyond Atubolu! Great finish, and a lovely little assist from Antonio.
Updated
Slavia Prague 0-0 Milan (2-4 agg)
28 min: Leao goes through on goal, but Stanek makes a fine stop with his feet. You feel that Milan need just one more goal to rubber stamp this tie. That said, the red card has really taken the bite out of the home crowd.
Villarreal 0-0 Marseille (0-4 agg)
24 min: Marseille nearly extend their lead in Spain! Femenia makes a hash of a clearance and Sarr races through but Jorgensen races out of goal and just beats the Marseille man to the ball!
I should mention that Sorloth has missed two golden chances for Villarreal already. The aggregate score could be quite different.
Updated
RED CARD FOR SLAVIA PRAGUE'S HOLES!
Slavia Prague 0-0 Milan (2-4 agg)
20 min: The hosts’ unlikely task just become the near impossible. Holes sees red after catching Calabria on the ankle. The referee needed VAR to confirm the decision, but a red card it is.
Rangers 0-0 Benfica (2-2 agg)
15 min: Wright does really well on the right wing, taking on three Benfica defenders to win a corner. Headed clear.
I should mention that there was this tifo at Ibrox before kick-off. A reminder that the Europa League final this year is in Dublin. It is not impossible that they could face Liverpool in the Irish capital, a potential prospect that Uefa have described as “extremely challenging”.
…we will follow on! pic.twitter.com/pp7a2YRlLM
— Heart & Hand Podcast (@ibroxrocks) March 14, 2024
Rangers 0-0 Benfica (2-2 agg)
12 min: Fredrik Aursnes, who is basically a Norwegian regen of a late career Raul Meireles (not just in his appearance but also in the way that he plays), shoots from range for Benfica. Butland, who was snubbed from Southgate’s England squad today, gets down to his right.
West Ham 1-0 Freiburg (1-1 agg)
10 min: Freiburg so nearly hit back immediately. Some slick passing releases Sallai, and the striker works a yard of space in the box but shoots two yards wide. The Hungarian should have done better!
GOAL! West Ham 1-0 Freiburg (1-1 agg)
We’re all square in the tie! West Ham score from that third corner, with Soucek flicking it on at the near post. Paqueta, completely unmarked taps it in. The London Stadium erupts!
Updated
West Ham 0-0 Freiburg (0-1 agg)
6 min: Kudus nearly finds space for a spectacular overhead but has to settle for a corner. Freiburg manage to clear two Cresswell deliveries from under their crossbar but West Ham will have a third corner …
Rangers 0-0 Benfica (2-2 agg)
2 min: Lively start at Ibrox. David Neres, who was terrible in the first leg for Benfica crosses from the left but Souttar stands strong in the middle.
Peeeeeeeeeeeeep! And we’re off in the four Europa League matches.
The teams are out. Angel Di Maria looks particularly stonefaced in Glasgow, as does Rangers’ Fabio Silva, who played briefly for Benfica in his youth, but then made his name at Porto. The Portuguese was excellent in the first leg, I thought.
This is a fascinating West Ham squad at the moment. In Paqueta, Bowen, Kudus, Alvarez they have some elite talent, and yet it still feels very old school West Ham. And I’m not talking about Bobby Moore. More Kevin Nolan. Not that I don’t like Kevin Nolan. But you know what I mean.
Updated
This is worth a read. Aubemeyang is on the Marseille bench tonight, with the French side 4-0 up on Villarreal from the first leg.
Ibrox is going to be absolutely rocking tonight. The team is on a rich run of form, Benfica is a pearler of a European tie and there will also be tributes to Thomas McAllister, a fan who lost his life in Lisbon after the first leg.
Team news
Villarreal v Marseille
Villarreal: Reina, Femenia, Bailly, Mandi, Cuenca, Coquelin, Capoue, Parejo, Goncalo Guedes, Gerard, Sorloth.
Subs: Mosquera, Comesana, Jorgensen, Trigueros, Morales, Baena, Altimira, Akhomach.
Marseille: Pau Lopez, Meite, Mbemba, Balerdi, Merlin, Clauss, Kondogbia, Ounahi, Veretout, Ndiaye, Sarr.
Subs: Aubameyang, Harit, Moumbagna, Correa, Blanco, Soglo, Tunkadi, Luis Henrique.
West Ham v Freiburg
West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Mavropanos, Zouma, Cresswell, Soucek, Alvarez, Kudus, Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Antonio.
Subs: Johnson, Ward-Prowse, Phillips, Ings, Ogbonna, Areola, Aguerd, Earthy, Casey, Mubama, Orford, Knightbridge.
Freiburg: Atubolu, Sildialli, Ginter, Gulde, Gunter, Hofler, Doan, Eggestein, Holer, Grifo, Sallai.
Subs: Lienhart, Szalai, Keitel, Kubler, Adamu, Muller, Muslija, Philipp, Uphoff, Makengo, Rohl, Gregoritsch.
Rangers v Benfica
Rangers: Butland, Tavernier, Goldson, Souttar, Yilmaz, Diomande, Lundstram, Scott Wright, Lawrence, Silva, Dessers.
Subs: Cantwell, Matondo, Roofe, Davies, McCrorie, Barisic, King, Raskin, McCausland, Yfeko, Fraser, McKinnon.
Benfica: Trubin, Bah, Silva, Otamendi, Aursnes, Neves, Florentino, Di Maria, Rafa Silva, Neres, Marcos Leonardo.
Subs: Fernandez, Morato, Arthur Cabral, Kokcu, Tengstedt, Joao Mario, Soares, Rollheiser, Araujo, Kokubo, Gouveia.
Slavia Prague v Milan
Slavia Prague: Stanek, Vlcek, Ogbu, Zima, Zmrzly, Holes, Dorley, Doudera, Provod, Wallem, Chytil.
Subs: Tijani, Zafeiris, Dominik Pech, van Buren, Jurecka, Sevcik, Schranz, Mandous, Tomic, Sirotnik, Jurasek, Konecny.
Milan: Maignan, Calabria, Gabbia, Tomori, Hernandez, Adli, Musah, Pulisic, Loftus-Cheek, Leao, Giroud.
Subs: Bennacer, Reijnders, Jovic, Okafor, Kalulu Kyatengwa, Chukwueze, Kjaer, Thiaw, Terracciano, Sportiello, Nava.
Preamble
Hello world! Thursday is the new Wednesday, haven’t you heard? An evening for the football hipsters.
What, you’ve never heard of new Benfica wonderkid João Neves?! Ha! He’s got higher-waisted shorts than Javier Zanetti and Scott Parker, an engine like a young James Milner and the vision of a teenage Rui Costa. Stick that up your Champions League and smoke it.
The point is, there are dozens of little storylines here. Some well-thumbed, some waiting to be explored. We have eight second legs on offer in the early kick-offs (5.45pm GMT), and eight matches in the lates (8pm GMT, which will be brought to you later by Rob Smyth).
The 5.45pm (GMT) kick offs:
Rangers v Benfica (2-2 agg)
West Ham v Freiburg (0-1 agg)
Slavia Prague v Milan (2-4 agg)
Villarreal v Marseille (0-4 agg)
