EUROPA League
Amorim offers to quit Man United
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim said that he was confident he was still the right man for the job after the club’s woeful Europa League loss to Tottenham Hotspur, but would quit with no compensation if the club’s board believed otherwise.
Amorim and his men had hoped to salvage something from a woeful season that has them languishing 16th in the Premier League with one game remaining.
Instead, Brennan Johnson bundled in a first-half goal in a 1-0 win that clinched Spurs a spot in the Champions League next season — leaving United out of European football entirely.
“In this moment, I am not going to be here defending myself, it is not my style,” Amorim told reporters. “I cannot do it, it is really hard for me.
“So I have nothing to show to the fans and say ‘I’m going to improve because of this, I have these problems,’ I will not do nothing.
“In this moment, it is a little bit of faith. Let’s see. I’m always open, if the board and the fans feel that I am not the right guy, I will go the next day without any conversation about compensation.”
Missing out on the Champions League is costly with co-owner Jim Ratcliffe estimating the financial benefit of qualification between 80 and 100 million pounds ($107 – $134 million) in broadcast, matchday and commercial income.
“It is tough for a club like us not to be in the Champions League but now we have to deal with that with a different plan, even with the market,” Amorim said. “But that means we have more time, more time to think and work during the week and to be better in the Premier League. This will be our focus.
“I know it’s going to be tough, I know we lost to an English team, I know the pressure of the fans is going to be really short in the next season. But I guarantee you I will not quit, I will not go away, so I am really confident.”
United played like a team more afraid to lose than one focused on winning on Wednesday, particularly in the first half, which proved costly as terrible defending led to Spurs’ goal.
United fared better in the second half and threatened to equalise in the dying minutes with Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Luke Shaw all forcing terrific saves.
“I was always really honest with you guys. We did not perform perfectly today but we were better than the opponent,” Amorim said. “In the second half we tried everything with the centre defenders wide, crosses, going inside the box. I think today was not the day.”
There have been questions about whether United have gone backwards since the Portuguese succeeded Erik ten Hag after the former manager’s sacking in late-October.
“I don’t agree (that we are going backwards),” Amorim said. “We’ve had some bad results but I think we have improved in certain areas. We were competitive in more games that we didn’t score in.
“I understand I’m a young guy. But I also understand that if we have the chances that we had in the second half, if we managed to score one, the game should have been different, this press conference should be so different.”
-Reuters
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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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