EUROPA League
Nigerians -Ndidi, Lookman and Iheanacho power Leicester to big Europa win at King Power Stadium
Leicester City beat Danish side Randers 4-1 in their Europa Conference League knockout round play-off first leg.
Wilfried Ndidi gave the Foxes the lead with a side-footed finish from Ademola Lookman’s pass.
Vito Hammershoej-Mistrati levelled for Randers following an assist by Nigerian-born Tosin Kehinde against the run of play, but Harvey Barnes restored the lead with a turn and clever finish.
Patson Daka added a third and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall slotted home after good work by Kelechi Iheanacho.
Daka appeared offside before tapping in after Youri Tielemans’ shot was parried – but the video assistant referee system is only used in the final of Uefa’s newest tournament.
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers claimed he did not know what this competition was or that his side were in it after finishing third in their Europa League group.
But he named a strong team nonetheless and the second leg in Denmark next week should be a formality.
The winners of this tie face one of the Europa Conference League group winners in the last 16.
Winning the whole thing would put Leicester in next year’s Europa League and it may be their best bet of doing so.
They were far too good for the Danish Cup winners, who have never been further than the first round of a European competition before.
Daka headed over, Dewsbury-Hall had a shot cleared off line, Caglar Soyuncu had a half-volley saved and Daniel Amartey headed wide – all before the first goal.
The chances continued to come, 23 shots in total, and they will rarely have an easier night in Europe.
The one worry was James Maddison going down unchallenged in the second half, although he was able to walk off the pitch with assistance.
Rodgers told BT Sport: “He wasn’t feeling well so we took him off. He is in with the medics and he feels fine.”
Leicester had not won in five games in all competitions before this win.
“This group will get back to its level, it is just time and players coming back,” added Rodgers. “The fluency was good, we looked dynamic.
“Our goal for the remainder of the season is to finish as high as we can in the league, to keep developing, improving and to get players back.
“We want to finish as strong as we can and bring that into the following season. In this competition, everyone is in it to win it and we are no different.”
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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