Who could we face in the quarter-finals?

Thursday 16 March 2023 22:41

The eight teams in the Europa League quarter-finals have been confirmed.

Manchester United took our place by completing a 5-1 aggregate victory over Real Betis, courtesy of Marcus Rashford scoring the only goal of the second leg at the Estadio Benito Villamarin, earlier this evening.

Juventus booked their spot with a 2-0 triumph at Freiburg, to add to their 1-0 win in the first leg, as, after Manuel Gulde was sent off, Dusan Vlahovic converted a penalty and Federico Chiesa provided the icing on the cake in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

Also in the earlier kick-offs, Sevilla suffered a 1-0 reverse to Fenerbahce but their 2-0 success in the first game ensured progress for the European specialists. Enner Valencia's penalty proved insufficient for the Istanbul outfit.

Feyenoord smashed Shakhtar Donetsk 7-1 on the night, 8-2 on aggregate, with Orkan Kokcu and Oussama Idrissi both scoring twice.

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Later in the evening, Jose Mourinho's Roma did a very professional job on Real Sociedad, who had topped our group, by playing out a goalless draw in Spain to retain a 2-0 advantage from the first leg. Former Red Chris Smalling had a goal disallowed by VAR.

Bayer Leverkusen recorded a second 2-0 victory against Ferencvaros, earning a 4-0 aggregate scoreline, with Moussa Diaby and Amine Adli netting for the Bundesliga side.

Belgian side Union Saint-Gilloise pulled off a fabulous 3-0 win over German Bundesliga outfit Union Berlin, after a 3-3 draw in the first leg. Teddy Teuma and Jean Thierry Lazare Amani put the Belgian hosts in a commanding position and Berlin's Janik Haberer was red carded before Loic Lapoussin added a late third.

There was real drama at the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal's tie with Sporting went to penalties. Granit Xhaka fired the Gunners ahead, only for Pedro Goncalves to deservedly haul the visitors level, with a long-range wonder strike. After it finished 1-1 on the night, 3-3 on aggregate, Sporting won 5-3 on spot-kicks, with Gabriel Martinelli missing for the Londoners.

The draw will take place at 12:00 GMT on Friday, with no restrictions or seedings. Pencil the dates 13 and 20 April into the diary for the two-legged tie.

The path to Budapest will become clear, as the semi-final draw is also being held. These are due to be played on 11 and 18 May.

The final is set to be staged at the Puskas Arena in Hungary on 31 May.

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EUROPA LEAGUE QUARTER-FINALISTS

Bayer Leverkusen (Germany)
Feyenoord (Netherlands)
Juventus (Italy)
MANCHESTER UNITED (ENGLAND)
Roma (Italy)
Sevilla (Spain)
Sporting (Portugal)
Union Saint-Gilloise (Belgium)

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