EUROPA League
Goalkeeper Kepa the hero as Chelsea edge out Villarreal to win Uefa Super Cup
Kepa Arrizabalaga was the unlikely hero as Chelsea started the new season as they ended the last with a European trophy by beating Villarreal 6-5 on penalties after a 1-1 draw to win the Uefa Super Cup in Belfast.
The Spaniard, who has lost his place as number one since joining the club for a world record fee for a goalkeeper in 2018, was introduced late in extra-time as a substitute for the shootout by Thomas Tuchel.
Kepa famously refused to be replaced by former Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri in a League Cup final defeat to Manchester City two years ago.
But this time he rewarded his manager’s faith with saves from Aissa Mandi and Raul Albiol.
“It was not spontaneous,” said Tuchel who explained the plan had been hatched in the FA Cup last season.
“We talked about it with the goalkeepers after the first cup game against Barnsley.
“Kepa has the best percentage at saving penalties, the analysing guys and goalkeeping coaches showed me the data. We spoke to the players that this could happen when we play in knockout games. It’s fantastic how Edouard (Mendy) accepted it.
“There is proof that Kepa is better in this discipline. They’re team players. Edouard does not show the pride to not step off the field. He was happy to do it for the team and take this for the team.”
Chelsea’s win over manchester City in Porto to lift the Champions League trophy for a second time in May was the culmination of a meteoric rise in Tuchel’s first five months in charge.
The German has bemoaned having to manage a 42-man squad during pre-season and could soon have even more firepower to call on with Romelu Lukaku expected to complete a return to Stamford Bridge later this week for a club record £97 million (S$180 million).
But the depth of resources available to Tuchel was on show early on.
Euro 2020 finalists Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Jorginho all had to settle for a place on the bench after their late return to pre-season training, but Chelsea still had far too much for the Europa League winners in the opening half hour.
Bittersweet for Ziyech
Hakim Ziyech had a bittersweet evening as he continued his fine pre-season form into competitive action with the opening goal.
Marcos Alonso fed Kai Havertz down the right and from the German’s low cross, Ziyech swept home.
However, the Moroccan was forced off before half-time in a sling by a shoulder injury.
In stark contrast to Chelsea’s haul of now 20 trophies in the nearly 20 years since Roman Abramovich’s takeover transformed the club, Villarreal’s Europa League final victory over Manchester United in May secured their first ever silverware.
After an overly cautious start from Unai Emery’s men, going behind forced the Yellow Submarine out of their shell and they were unfortunate not to be level by half-time.
“I am proud to represent Villarreal, our project and the Spanish league,” said Emery. “We knew how to compete.”
Mendy scampered from his line to deny Boulaye Dia a debut goal before Villarreal twice hit the woodwork either side of the break through Alberto Moreno and Gerard Moreno.
Villarreal were the dominant force in the second-half as Chelsea physically faded after their flying start.
Tuchel turned to his bench to stem the tide as Mount, Jorginho and Andreas Christensen were introduced.
But the Spaniards finally got their deserved equaliser when Moreno played a clever one-two with Dia before firing high past Mendy.
Neither manager would have welcomed an extra 30 minutes just days before their respective league campaigns kick-off.
Chelsea had the better of extra-time as Christian Pulisic fired inches wide before Sergio Asenjo produced a fine save to deny Mount.
Asenjo also gave Villarreal a dream start to the shootout by saving from Havertz.
But Chelsea were flawless with their next six spot-kicks to allow Kepa to take centre stage.
-AFP
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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Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time of assessment on March 1, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman, John Textor, owned a controlling stake in Palace.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League.
“After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the CAS said in a statement.
“The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not respond to a request for comment. Club chairman Steve Parish told reporters on Sunday that if Palace lost the appeal, they would “have to look if there’s any steps after that.”
The club, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings’ stake in Palace.
Textor has also resigned from Lyon’s board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League,” Lyon said in a statement.
Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday , beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
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