Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma, Marseille, and Atalanta are all through to the Europa League semi-finals after taking care of business against West Ham United, AC Milan, Benfica, and Liverpool in the second leg of their respective ties last night.
Because two Italian top-flight teams have made it this far, Serie A’s UEFA coefficient has received a huge boost, which may mean more European berths for them, especially if AS Roma and Atalanta are going to meet in the final.
Meanwhile, Marseille and Bayer Leverkusen are happy to be in the final four too, with the latter being the tournament’s favourites, as per the SBOTOP Europa League 2024 odds, because they still have yet to lose in all competitions this season.
More late heroics for Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen knocked out West Ham United of the Europa League, as Jeremie Frimpong’s late equaliser denied the Hammers the distinction of being the first team to beat the Bundesliga champions this season.
West Ham United got ahead when Michail Antonio scored a header from Jarrod Bowen’s cross in the 13th minute. Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus almost put the Hammers up 2-0 but were both denied by Matej Kovar.
Xabi Alonso’s side were much better in the second half, which culminated in Jeremie Frimpong’s 89th-minute goal, when his shot took a big deflection off Aaron Cresswell and sailed over goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.
It felt like déjà vu for West Ham United because they also fluffed their lines in the first leg when they conceded late goals from Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface, which made all the difference in this tie.
Bayer Leverkusen will have a chance for revenge since they are set to face AS Roma, who eliminated them in the semi-finals last season.
Marseille take advantage of Benfica’s miscues
Marseille are also through to the final four, as they managed to overturn a 2-1 deficit against Benfica in the first leg.
After struggling to create Europa League 2024 highlights early on, substitute forward Faris Moumbagna saved the day for Marseille, as he scored the equaliser during the 79th minute courtesy of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s assist to send the match to the penalty shootout, in which they outscored their Portuguese counterparts 4-2.
Pau Lopez should get his plaudits as well for making the crucial saves, both in regulation and in the penalty shootout, to help OM get to the next round.
Marseille scored all of their penalties, while Angel Di Maria and Antonio Silva missed for Benfica, and that was all she wrote.
Another trophy chance gone for Liverpool
Liverpool have bowed out of the Europa League despite defeating Atalanta 1-0 in Bergamo on Thursday.
Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of the contest via a penalty kick when Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross hit the hand of Matteo Ruggeri, which gave the Reds hope early on.
Salah almost made it two to heighten Atalanta’s anxiety when he was in a one-on-one sequence with Juan Musso, but the Egyptian striker inexplicably lobbed the ball wide of the left post, and Liverpool never recovered from there.
Atalanta would’ve had the equaliser to extend their aggregate lead if only Teun Koopmeiners’ goal was not disallowed by the VAR. Marten de Roon threaded the needle for Koopmeiners, who did go a bit early when he fired the ball past Alisson before halftime.
Now that they’re out of Europe, instead of a potential treble, Jurgen Klopp’s last chance of winning another trophy this year is via the Premier League, where they’re currently third in the table.
Meanwhile, Atalanta are still in contention for two trophies this season, as they’ll face Fiorentina and Marseille, respectively, in the Coppa Italia and Europa League semi-finals.
AC Milan unable to conquer Rome
After winning 1-0 in the first leg, AS Roma asserted their mastery over AC Milan here in the Europa League by beating them 2-1 in the second leg last night.
Gianluca Mancini, the Giallorossi’s hero in the first leg, scored again to put his team up in the 12th minute before teammate Paulo Dybala added one for good measure 10 minutes later.
However, the complexion of the game changed when full-back Zeki Celik was given a straight red card in the 31st minute because of his reckless tackle on AC Milan’s Rafael Leao.
To their credit, AS Roma held on despite Matteo Gabbia scoring a late consolation for AC Milan, although they’re sweating on the fitness of Romelu Lukaku, who was subbed off near the half-hour mark due to an apparent muscular injury.
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