EUROPA League
Balogun, Aribo with Rangers, join Barca in Europa Q’finals
Super Eagles duo, Leon Balogun and Joe Aribo on Thursday played vital role as FC Rangers reached their first European quarter-final in 14 years after a resilient second-leg showing at Red Star Belgrade sealed a landmark Europa League aggregate victory.
While inspiring midfielder, Aribo played for 68 minutes, his compatriot, Balogun was in action for the entire duration. Mirko Ivanic drilled in an early opener to give the Serbian champions hope at the hostile Rajko Mitic Stadium.
But Ryan Kent’s deflected second-half finish ended the tie as a contest after Allan McGregor made several key saves.
Ben Nabouhane grabbed a late Red Star consolation from the spot.
Rangers were rocked for spells with the aggregate scoreline at 3-1, but yet again their veteran keeper was on hand to deliver another outstanding performance in his 99th in European for the Scottish champions, ensuring their advantage was not reduced further.
The Ibrox side will discover their last-eight opponents in today’s draw, the first time they have reached this stage since their journey to the UEFA Cup final in 2008.
In another encounter, Barcelona had to come from behind to seal a 2-1 victory over Galatasaray and book their place in the quarter-finals.
Xavi’s men attempted to dominate possession early on but Galatasaray had the game’s first real chance. Through on goal, Bafetimbi Gomis but saw his shot repelled by a desperate lunge from Jordi Alba.
Frenkie de Jong found himself in a similar position a few minutes later. The Dutchman really should have scored but dragged his effort wide under little pressure.
The opener came shortly before the half-hour mark from Galatasaray captain Marcao, whose diving header nestled perfectly into Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s side netting. The defender booted the corner flag in celebration, breaking it and forcing a two-minute delay while it was fixed.
Pedri looked a real threat for Barcelona and netted his side’s equaliser ten minutes later. The young midfielder sat two defenders down before firing home from close range.
Barcelona nearly went ahead with the final kick of the first half. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was at full stretch to connect with a cross, but his looping header hit the top of the crossbar and went behind.
They would eventually get that go-ahead goal a few minutes after the break. Inaki Pena made two excellent saves to deny Sergio Busquets and Pedri, but he could not get to the final effort from Aubameyang, who tapped home to keep his outrageous run of form going.
That goal changed the tone of the whole game. Barcelona began to dominate possession and control everything about the match, and although clear-cut chances were at a premium, Barcelona looked comfortably on top.
Unfortunately, the game ended on a bit of a sour note. Alba’s perceived timewasting drew the ire of the home fans, who began launching missiles in his direction. The left-back responded by hoofing the ball into the crowd, kicking off a bit of an on-field skirmish.
Things soon calmed down and Barcelona should have killed the game off with a third, only for Ferran Torres to strike the crossbar with an effort that VAR probably would have ruled onside had he scored.
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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