Thursday’s Europa League action saw several thrilling matches, with Athletic Club pulling off a stunning 3-1 win over Roma to advance to the quarter-finals. The Spanish side, led by Nico Williams’ double, came from behind to secure a 4-3 aggregate victory and book their spot in the last eight.
The match got off to a dramatic start, with Roma’s Mats Hummels receiving a red card in the 11th minute for taking down Maroan Sannadi. Williams leveled the tie on aggregate just before halftime, with his shot taking a deflection off Roma’s Angeliño before finding the net.
Athletic Club took the lead on aggregate with 22 minutes left, thanks to Yuri Berchiche’s header from a corner. Leandro Paredes made for a nervy ending, but Athletic held on for a 4-3 aggregate win. The eventual Europa League final will be held in Bilbao, and Williams is already looking forward to the possibility of playing in the final.
“I’m really looking forward to being in that final,” Williams said. “To be Athletic is to suffer, and we also had to have that little bit of suffering at the end. We did an incredible job and we deserved to go through.”
In other Europa League action, Lazio advanced to the quarter-finals with a 1-1 home draw against Viktoria Plzen. The Italian side had won the first leg 2-1 away, and secured a 3-2 aggregate victory thanks to Alessio Romagnoli’s header from a corner.
Bodø/Glimt, meanwhile, continued their impressive European adventure with a 4-2 aggregate win over Olympiakos. The Norwegian side had built a three-goal cushion in the first leg, and secured their spot in the quarter-finals despite a late rally from the Greek side.
Eintracht Frankfurt also advanced to the quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over Ajax. The German side had little trouble finishing off their Dutch opponents, and will now face one of the other quarter-finalists in the next round.
The Europa League quarter-final draw will take place soon, and fans are eagerly anticipating the matchups. With several top teams still in contention, the competition is sure to heat up in the coming weeks.
In conclusion, Thursday’s Europa League action saw several thrilling matches, with Athletic Club pulling off a stunning win over Roma to advance to the quarter-finals. Lazio and Bodø/Glimt also secured their spots in the last eight, and fans are eagerly anticipating the quarter-final draw.
Source: Africa Publicity
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