EUROPA League
ARSENAL THRASH SLAVIA PRAGUE TO REACH EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI FINALS
Arsenal cruised past Slavia Prague 4-0 to book a Europa League semi-final spot on Thursday (April 15) after they struck three quick-fire goals in seven first-half minutes to advance 5-1 on aggregate.
Alexandre Lacazette scored twice, including a penalty, while Nicolas Pepe and Bukayo Saka also found the net in the quarter-final second leg to set up a last-four clash with Villarreal.
Arsenal, surprisingly held to a 1-1 home draw by the Czech champions, signalled their intent from the start as they pressed forward to create chances while Slavia struggled to move the ball out of their own half and rarely threatened in attack.
“I feel like in the first leg we played really well but didn’t take our chances,” Arsenal’s Saka told BT Sport.
“The way we pressed, they couldn’t get out and the control we had over the game, the movement, the rotations, they couldn’t stop us.”
The visitors opened the scoring in the 18th minute when Pepe drove a shot home from a pass by Emile Smith-Rowe, who had a goal disallowed for offside minutes earlier after a VAR review.
Lacazette then coolly slotted in a spot-kick after 21 minutes after Czech midfielder Jakub Hromada bundled over Saka. Arsenal struck again three minutes later when Saka cut inside a defender and fired a low shot past keeper Ondrej Kolar.
Lacazette netted his second of the night in the 77th minute when he latched onto Pepe’s cross before jinking away from two defenders to create some space to beat the Czech keeper.
Arsenal, who ended Slavia’s 21-match unbeaten streak at home in all competitions this season, next face their former manager Unai Emery’s Villarreal side who beat Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate to reach the semis.
Slavia, who made four changes after the break, were without defender Ondrej Kudela who was serving a 10-match Uefa ban for “racist behaviour” in their Europa League last-16 match against Scottish side Rangers last month.
The home side, who beat Leicester City as well as Rangers en route to the quarter finals, reached the end of the road against an Arsenal side that pressured the Czechs all over the pitch.
“They were better today by every measure,” Slavia coach Jindrich Trpisovsky told reporters. “They scored with their chances and we lacked better movement to be more successful in the attack.”
-Reuters
Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We need to go and win it now.”
Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.
“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” for their fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday’s win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with fans
He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted. “Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added of the upcoming opponents.
-Reuters
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List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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