EUROPA League
FULL TIME: WOLVES 0-1 SEVILLA -EUROPA LEAGUE – SHAKHTAR DONETSK 4-1 BASEL
Gooooal!
Van Wolfswinkel (Basel) scores!
A consolation for Basel and a memorable moment for the returning striker whose career was threatened by injury. Campo breaks down the right and sends a low centre across the face of goal, bobbling through to substitute Van Wolfswinkel, who converts from close range.
Full Time: Wolves 0-1 Sevilla
GOAL! Wolves 0-1 Sevilla (Ocampos 88′)
Heartbreak for Wolves!
Banega does not take the corner this time, but it is played back to him and he gets his delivery right.
That being said, Ocampos still has a lot to do but his glancing header gives Patricio no chance as he nets his 17th of the season.
Gooooal!
Dodô (Shakhtar Donetsk) scores!
85min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Wolves may have had the best chance of the evening but Lopetegui will be furious that his side have missed the headers they have created.
Their latest falls to En-Nesyri from a Banega corner, and he heads over after good pressure from Ruben Neves.
That is En-Nesyri’s final involvement, as he is replaced by Luuk de Jong, who has not scored in 10 games, while Franco Vazquez replaces Joan Jordan.
Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 Basel
A third and decisive goal it looks like for the Ukrainian side, with Alan Patrick netting their third from the penalty spot.
71min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Twenty minutes to go in this one and we are no closer to finding out who will face Manchester United in the semi-finals.
Diego Carlos is receiving some treatment here, and he has done well since giving away the penalty.
Him and Kounde have given themselves a few yards to defend against Traore who has failed to recreate his run in the first half.
61min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
There may be no crowd in the stadium, but the tension is palpable as Dendoncker does well to come back and stop Jordan from unleashing a shot from Fernando’s cross.
Reguilon then has a wild effort from the resulting corner, as Sevilla aim to continue their momentum.
54min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Wolves started the first half very well, but it is Sevilla who have imposed themselves at the start of this second period.
The Sevilla defence are now not allowing space for Jimenez and Traore, with Nuno having Diogo Jota on the bench.
53min:Fernando (Sevilla) is penalised for a foul on Rúben Neves (Wolves).
49min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Yellow card
Saïss (Wolves) is cautioned by the referee.
Suso appears to have picked up exactly where he left off, helping the Spanish side break before Ocampos is surrounded, and then to deliver a flighted ball that Doherty has to head behind for the corner.
Second half resumes
46min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
It is the Spanish side who get us back underway in Duisburg, can they muster a better performance in this half?
In the other match, Taison scored Shakhtar’s second and they look well on their way to meeting Inter Milan in a few days’ time. They lead 2-0 at half time against Basel.
Match summary
- Júnior Moraes scores 2nd-minute header
- Taison doubles lead with fine team goal
- Marcos Antônio also hits bar for Shakhtar
- Nikolić denies Júnior Moraes and Marlos
- Winners will face Inter in semi-finals
The referee blows for half-time.
That’s the end of an intriguing first half. Wolves started brightly and, of course, the best chance went their way but Jiménez fluffed his lines from the penalty spot, his weak kick allowing Bounou to save. But Sevilla improved and have had their own chances later in the half, the best of them El-Nesyri’s shot across the face of goal. Plenty more twists and turns to come.
A half of two halves. Wolves came sprinting out of the blocks, not least in the shape of Traoré whose remarkable run earned the early penalty spurned by Jiménez. Since then, Sevilla have shaken themselves into gear and are largely in control of possession. It’s well poised.
Half Time: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla45min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
One minute added on at the end of the half.
43min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Patricio is playing in his 108th European game tonight, and he is on hand here to keep out a powerful drive from Jordan.
A couple of minutes until the break here in what has been a tight affair.
37min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Sevilla’s star man Lucas Ocampos has had a very quiet evening so far, but he gets into the game here with a nice curling effort.
It does not add to his tally of 14 LaLiga goals for the season, not having enough curl on it to beat Patricio
Summary so far
WOLVES 0-0 SEVILLA
· Jiménez penalty saved by Bounou
· Diego Carlos fells Traoré to concede spot kick
· Rui Patrício denies Suso at other end
· Winners play Man. United in semi-finals
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Basel
35min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
Jesus Navas has enjoyed himself down their right-hand side and has whipped in many dangerous crosses.
Wolves are struggling to get out of their own half at the moment, with Suso also picking up good positions in the hole.
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-0 Basel
Meanwhile in the other quarterfinal duel of Shakhtar Donetsk and Basel in in Gelsenkirchen the Ukraine side, Donetsk are cruising home comfortably with an early goal. Moraes has given the Ukranian side the lead against their Swiss opponents.
Later, they added a second goal, setting up a possible semifinal clash with Inter
24min: Wolves 0-0 Sevilla
We haven’t seen much from Sevilla in an attacking sense, but here is a half-chance for En-Nesyri, who can only divert the cross from the right miles over the bar.
Nuno’s men have shown a good shape to their play so far
WOLVES 0-0 SEVILLA
Match summary
- Jiménez penalty saved by Bounou
- Diego Carlos fells Traoré to concede spot kick
- Sevilla unchanged from win against Roma
- Winners play Man. United in semi-finals
Penalty missed
Jiménez (Wolves) misses from the penalty spot.
Jiménez scored the only goal against Olympiacos from the spot… But this time he’s denied! Not the best penalty you’ll ever see, not well struck, and pushed away by Bounou.
Diego Carlos (Sevilla) concedes a penalty for a foul on Traoré (Wolves).
Like Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) will be hoping to snap a semi-final ticket as they take on Spanish side, Sevilla in a quarterfinal duel tonight in Duisburg.
Sevilla are the Europa League’s most successful club in the competition .The other quarter-final of the evening sees Shakhtar Donetsk and Basel battle it out in Gelsenkirchen for the chance to face Inter Milan in the other semi-final.
It took Ajax 34 penalties to beat Panathinaikos 13-12 in a marathon shootout on Thursday, setting a UEFA competition record after their Europa League third qualifying round tie ended 1-1 over two legs and extra time.
Ajax, who won 1-0 at Panathinaikos last week, conceded in the 89th minute in Amsterdam, leading to the shootout that broke the previous record of 32 attempts at the European U-21 Championship semi-final in 2007 where Netherlands beat England 13-12.
The world record for the longest shootout was set in May when Israeli third-tier clubs SC Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv took 56 penalties to resolve their semi-final promotion playoff tie.
Ajax keeper Remko Pasveer made five saves and scored on his own attempt to help the hosts win the shootout as Dutch international Brian Brobbey missed two penalties.
“Five is quite a lot, yes. I save a penalty every now and then, but I don’t think you often experience something as crazy as this,” Pasveer said.
“Every time I thought we would do it. Brobbey behind the ball, we will do it. But he missed, while he always scores during training.”
Defender Anton Gaaei ultimately delivered the winning penalty for Ajax. The Eredivisie club will now face Polish side Jagiellonia Bialystok in the playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
It is not yet certain for Manchester United if the struggling former giants will play in the Europa League despite winning the FA Cup.
The club will discover their Europa League fate after UEFA threaten relegation
They have been left concerned they could be relegated to the Europa Conference League after Nice, who Sir Jim Ratcliffe also owns, qualified for the Europa League
According to British publication, Mirror, Manchester United will be allowed to play in the Europa League after UEFA came to a decision on their future in the competition.
Though they finished eighth in the Premier League, Erik ten Hag’s side won the FA Cup. That win earned them automatic qualification to Europe’s second-tier competition for next season.
But there had been some doubt that they would be allowed to play in the competition after Nice also qualified.
The French side are also owned by Sir Jim Ratcliffe through his INEOS chemical company.They finished fifth in Ligue 1 in the season just gone and UEFA rules state that clubs owned by the same company are not allowed to play in the same European competition.
Normally, the team that finished lower in their respective league would be relegated to the Europa Conference League, in this case United.
But according to The Times, both United and Nice will be allowed to play in the Europa league next term. UEFA’s Club Financial Control Board is due to issue a ruling on multi-club ownership issues on Monday.
It is expected that the CFCB will give their approval to United playing alongside Nice, subject to certain conditions. They will also be warned that the upcoming campaign will be viewed as a transitional one and this leeway will not be given in future years.
The CFCB is also set to rule that Nice should be operated via a ‘blind trust’ by a panel approved by UEFA. It is a model that was used by AC Milan and Toulouse this season, with both clubs being owned by Red Bird Capital.
It is reported that a UEFA document on multi-club ownership says a blind trust would be a ‘temporary alternative… granted on an exceptional basis for the 2024-25 Uefa competitions’. It also states that UEFA’s multi-club ownership rule may be changed for future seasons.
INEOS only own 27.7 percent of United, but Ratcliffe has been handed control of the club’s football and business operations by majority owners the Glazer family. The British billionaire previously bought Nice in 2019.
Ratcliffe also owns Swiss Super League side Lausanne-Sport, though they have not qualified for a European competition for next year. The ruling around multi-club ownership also affects Manchester City.
Atalanta’s Europa League hat-trick hero Ademola Lookman admitted that he had to wait a while for success after years in and out of favour at different clubs but said it was “just the beginning” after he sank Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
The Nigeria forward became the first person to score a hat-trick in a Europa League final in the 3-0 win, which handed the Bergamo club their first major trophy in 61 years and ended the German champions’ remarkable 51-game unbeaten streak.
“Maybe it could have come earlier, but it’s come now,” said the 26-year-old Lookman, who bounced around in England with Everton, Fulham and Leicester City and in Germany with RB Leipzig before settling in Atalanta two seasons ago.
“This is just the beginning. I hope for more nights like this and to just keep getting better and better,” he told a news conference.
Lookman, who was a youth international for England, credited the Atalanta coaching staff and leadership of manager Gian Piero Gasperini for his revival. Since arriving at the club, he has scored 30 goals in 76 matches.
He pointed in particular to Gasperini’s belief in attacking football that has helped him to flourish.
“The first conversations I had with him made me look at football a lot different. It made things simple. It allowed me to play my game in a different light. I’m very grateful to him,” he said.
Asked if he would have imagined such a night in his wildest dreams while starting out as a teenager at Charlton Athletic, Lookman responded: “Probably yeah.”
“I’ve always had the confidence in my ability to create, to score goals, to help my team mates. In the past two years I’ve been able to take my game to a whole new level,” he said.
-Reuters
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