Ladies, and gentlemen, forget what has gone before. As I’ve mentioned on these pages on more than one occasion, the show so far has been more the hors d’oeuvres than the main course.
But all that is about to change, as the Europa League is about to get serious. Today’s draw for the quarter-finals could potentially set up some classic encounters.
European giants AC Milan and Liverpool, the competition favourites, last season’s beaten finalists AS Roma and Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen are all among the front runners.
Throw in the Italians of Atalanta, a team with Euro pedigree in Marseille, attractive Portuguese favourites Benfica, and a club fast enjoying a taste for European football in West Ham United, and some real dingdongs await.
Let’s pause for the Hammers who are really developing a liking for the nights under the lights in the east end of London.
Semi-finalists in this competition two seasons ago before winning the Europa Conference last season, few imagined they would dispatch Freiburg in the last 16 in the manner they did.
In fact, their 5-0 home win (for a 5-1 aggregate triumph) was the club’s biggest ever European win.
Goals from Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, Aaron Cresswell, and a fine Mohamed Kudus double also took them to their biggest win since David Moyes returned to manage the club for a second spell in December 2019.
Moyes admitted he couldn’t imagine the progress West Ham have made since then, hailing it a “brilliant achievement”.
Interestingly, West Ham’s victory means the Premier League is in pole position to secure a fifth Champions League spot next season as England has overtaken Germany and Italy as the nation with most clubs left in European competition this term.
If the emphatic nature of their victory was the biggest surprise of the last 16, there was no doubting who had the most dramatic.
Patrik Schick is a player whose record I admire and it was his double in stoppage time that saw off spirited Qarabag to advance.
In scoring in the 93rd and 98th minutes against their 10-man opponents, substitute Schick extended Leverkusen’s unbeaten run this season to 37 matches.
Trailing 2-0 but with a man advantage with 20 minutes remaining, Jeremie Frimpong converted from another substitute, Álex Grimaldo, to give Leverkusen a lifeline they took in dramatic fashion as Schick netted twice in added time to send the home supporters into raptures, and Xabi Alonso’s men into the quarter-finals.
Schick is now Leverkusen’s top scorer in Europe with five goals, while Die Werkself have scored 104 goals in all competitions this term, the third-most in the top five leagues in Europe.
One side that are quietly fancied to do well in this competition are Benfica and they silenced the roar of Ibrox to knock out 2022 finalists Rangers.
After a 2-2 first leg draw in Lisbon, Rafa Silva raced on to Angel Di Maria’s second-half knockdown to rifle the ball past Jack Butland which proved to be the only goal.
That Benfica are the first Portuguese team to beat Rangers at Ibrox in European competition demonstrated this was a fine victory. The Glasgow club had previously gone 11 unbeaten at home against Portuguese opposition, winning eight and drawing three.
Talking of the Portuguese, one of the best players left in the tournament must be Rafael Leao.
He contributed to Milan’s 3-1 win over Slavia Prague (7-3 on aggregate) with a stunning curler from outside the box and an assist. It means Leao now has 10 goals and 10 assists across all competitions so far this season.
Another club looking to create Europa League 2024 highlights are their compatriots Atalanta.
Under the impressive management of Gian Piero Gasperini, La Dea have only lost twice since the turn of the year and have their eyes on the Coppa Italia prize, (they face Fiorentina in the semi-finals in April) as well as a top four finish in the league.
Of course, three of the eight clubs left in this tournament stem from Italy and, before you look at the SBOTOP Europa League 2024 betting odds, take heed from Roma manager Daniele De Rossi.
Against injury-hit Brighton and countryman Roberto De Zerbi, the Giallorossi knew the job was almost done thanks to a 4-0 first leg lead, so were able to rest Paulo Dybala, with Romelu Lukaku out injured.
They went down 1-0 but the outcome of the tie was never in doubt, and De Rossi defiantly said afterwards that no team will want to face Roma in the next round.
Perhaps he is right.
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