EUROPA League
Man United ‘can beat anyone’ after landing Barcelona scalp, says ten Hag
Manchester United should fear no one in their quest to win four trophies, said manager Erik ten Hag after beating Barcelona 2-1 on Thursday to progress to the last 16 of the Europa League 4-3 on aggregate.
Robert Lewandowski’s early penalty had given Barca the perfect start at Old Trafford.
But the La Liga leaders – who dropped down to this competition from the Champions League – were again undone on the European stage as Fred equalised early in the second period before Antony clinched the win.
“It was a magnificent night. I think it is brilliant when you can beat Barcelona, eight points ahead of Real Madrid in La Liga,” said ten Hag, who has remarkably transformed United’s fortunes in his first season in charge.
“This is another step because when you beat Barcelona, your belief can be really strong because you are then able to beat anyone.”
The fact that two of the continent’s giants were clashing at this early stage of Europe’s second-tier competition was evidence that both have fallen on harder times in recent years.
But United are riding the crest of a wave as they remain in the hunt for trophies on four fronts.
The Red Devils could end a six-year wait for silverware when they face Newcastle in the League Cup final on Sunday. They are third in the Premier League, and also have an FA Cup fifth-round clash with West Ham to come.
“I think we have some great personalities in this team,” added ten Hag.
“Everyone has such a strong belief in this team, you can see it. With the subs they bring energy and quality, they bring a different dynamic in games.”
But the reality that United’s reward on Thursday is merely a place in the last 16 of the Europa League shows there remains a long way to go to rediscover their past glories on the continental stage.
However, momentum is building under ten Hag. For a long time since former manager Alex Ferguson’s departure in 2013, Old Trafford lost its aura as an intimidating destination for visiting sides.
But no one is looking forward to a trip to the Theatre of Dreams with United now unbeaten in 18 games in all competitions at home.
Barcelona joined the list of big names – Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City – beaten on United’s home soil in recent months.
Embarrassing defeats to Brighton and Brentford to begin ten Hag’s time in charge are now also a distant memory.
“You need a strategy to build it but also results to get that strong belief,” said ten Hag on how he has lifted United out of the mire of a miserable 2021-22 season when they finished sixth in the Premier League.
Buoyed not only by results on the pitch, but the potential departure of unpopular owners the Glazer family, the United fanbase is jubilant.
“The fans have been with us in the toughest moments,” said United’s captain for the night Bruno Fernandes.
“This season we have been really good because they are always behind us. You can feel between them and us there is something special, Old Trafford was bouncing, that is why we got the result.”
This was almost certainly United’s finest night in continental competition since eliminating Paris Saint-Germain from the Champions League last 16 in a dramatic night at the Parc des Princes four years ago.
The wait for such a European night under the lights at Old Trafford goes even further back to when Barcelona were beaten in the semi-finals of the 2008 Champions League.
“You can see what it means for the players. We haven’t seen that for such a long time,” said former United midfielder Paul Scholes, who scored the winner in the 1-0 victory that night.
“To see the passion that these guys have for Manchester United is just fantastic, especially the reaction to the crowd.”
Ten Hag is hoping this is just the start on United’s road back to competing at the highest level in Europe.
“We have the potential to beat the big teams,” he added.
“We have beaten City, Arsenal, Liverpool. If we show discipline and team spirit this team can do a lot.”
–AFP/ Reuters
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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UEFA has decided to postpone its assessment of the multi-club ownership case involving Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace until the French club’s relegation has been confirmed, European football’s governing body said on Monday.
The multi-club ownership regulations do not allow clubs under the same ownership compete in the same European competition, and American businessman John Textor holds a stake in both Palace and Lyon.
Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1 but have since been relegated to Ligue 2 by French football’s financial watchdog (DNCG).
Lyon are appealing the decision, which came following an audit of the club’s finances, and UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body will now await the outcome of the appeal before making its decision.
UEFA and Lyon reached a settlement agreement over the club’s breach of the financial sustainability requirements, and as part of the settlement, Lyon agreed to their exclusion from European competition should the DNCG confirm their relegation.
League of Ireland club Drogheda United lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this month over their exclusion from the Conference League, after falling foul of the multi-club ownership rules.
-Reuters
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Tottenham Hotspur have sacked manager Ange Postecoglou, the club said on Friday, little more than two weeks after the Australian guided the London club to a first major trophy in 17 years with victory in the Europa League final.
While Postecoglou’s fate has split opinion amongst the fans, the 59-year-old ultimately paid the price for an horrendous Premier League season which saw Tottenham finish 17th.
“The Board has unanimously concluded that it is in the best interests of the Club for a change to take place,” Tottenham said in a statement.
“Following a positive start in the 2023/24 Premier League (PL) season, we recorded 78 points from the last 66 PL games. This culminated in our worst-ever PL finish last season.”
Postecoglou leaves two years to the day after his appointment and 16 days after his side beat Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao for the club’s first silverware since 2008, a win that also put them in next season’s Champions League.
The former Celtic manager has had to face questions over his future for several months, yet delivered on his claim early last season that he always wins a trophy in his second season in a job
He also took Tottenham to the League Cup semi-final but their league campaign was their worst since 1976-77, the last time the club suffered relegation from the top flight.
Several of the club’s first team have voiced their support for Postecoglou since beating United, but chairman Daniel Levy is now searching for his fifth full-time manager in six years since Mauricio Pochettino was sacked in 2019.
“At times there were extenuating circumstances — injuries and then a decision to prioritise our European campaign,” the club said. “Whilst winning the Europa League this season ranks as one of the Club’s greatest moments, we cannot base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph.”
Several managers have been linked to the Tottenham job, including Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner.
GOOD START
Postecoglou will walk away with his pride intact and a handsome bonus, but his recent comment to fans at the Europa League victory parade that the third season of a TV series is always better than the second now looks hollow.
It all started so well for Postecoglou. He began the 2023-24 campaign by guiding Tottenham to their best start to a top-flight season since the 1961 title-winning team.
That form soon dipped though and despite finishing fifth in his first campaign the momentum had long since gone.
This season Tottenham earned only 38 points and lost 22 top-flight matches. They managed five points from their last 12 league games and the only win they earned during that run was against a Southampton side who narrowly avoided becoming statistically the worst team ever in the Premier League.
Postecoglou has pointed to a long injury list which denied him the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Dejan Kulusevski, Destiny Udogie, Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Son Heung-min for significant periods.
But while it has clearly been one of long-serving chairman Levy’s toughest calls, he has concluded that Postecoglou is not the man to lead the club forward.
“We have made what we believe is the right decision to give us the best chance of success going forward, not the easy decision,” the club statement said.
“We have a talented, young squad and Ange has given us a great platform to build upon. We should like to express our gratitude to him. We wish him well for the future — he will always be welcome back at our home.”
Many fans reacted to the news of Postecoglou’s sacking with surprise, but England manager Thomas Tuchel said that sometimes even winning a trophy is not enough.
“I feel for every manager and I have huge sympathy for every manager in these moments because I was in the same spot,” the German, who was sacked by Chelsea despite taking them to the Champions League title, said on Friday.
“If the trust is not there anymore then sometimes it’s not enough to win a trophy.”
-Reuters
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