Villarreal and Granada, the two Spanish clubs that participated in the eighth of the Europa League, qualified this Thursday for the quarterfinals and continue their adventure in the second continental tournament.
The two had their playoffs very on track after winning 2-0 in the first leg.
Villarreal had won last week for that result in Ukraine to Dinamo Kiev and this Thursday they won again 2-0, already on Spanish soil, while Granada lost this Thursday in the round of 16 by 2-1 against the Norwegian mold, but the Andalusians enforced the income they had achieved in the first leg as locals.
After losing to Real Sociedad in the round of 32, Spanish football made it full of qualifiers in the round of 16, with two out of two. A balance that contrasts with that achieved by LaLiga teams in the last 16 of the Champions League, where only Real Madrid managed to go to the quarterfinals, while FC Barcelona, Sevilla and Atlético de Madrid were eliminated.
In Villarreal, the hero of the night was Gerard Moreno (minutes 13 and 36), author of a double for the victory of the ‘Yellow Submarine’ over Dynamo Kiev, who at no time seemed able to overcome.
“We will live the quarterfinal matches with great enthusiasm and dedication. It will surely be difficult,” predicted coach Unai Emery.
In the case of Granada, the classification came with a defeat, losing 2-1 with Molde in a match that was played in Budapest and not in Norway, due to the restrictions in the Nordic country against the coronavirus pandemic.
A goal against Jesús Vallejo (26) gave hope to Molde, but Roberto Soldado (72) provisionally balanced. With everything decided, Molde was able to leave with the honor of a victory by finishing 2-1, by transforming a penalty Eirik Hestad (90).
Granada continues its historic journey through this tournament, in its debut season in European competitions, after eliminating Naples in the round of 32 and after having started in this tournament in the previous rounds.
“Being among the eight best teams in the Europa League is something brutal,” celebrated coach Diego Martínez after the game.
– Tottenham y Milan, KO –
In the rest of Thursday’s matches, two eliminations of illustrious teams stood out, Tottenham and AC Milan.
José Mourinho’s Tottenham’s was the most unexpected, as the Londoners had won 2-0 in the first leg.
But Dinamo Zagreb had a feat ready.
Mislav Orsic (62, 83) allowed the team from the Croatian capital to win 2-0 at the end of the ninety regulation minutes and force the extension, where Orsic himself was confirmed as the executioner of the ‘Spurs’ with a third goal (106 ).
“My team did not seem to be playing an important game. You need another attitude. Saying sorry is not enough. What I feel is sadness,” said Tottenham’s Portuguese coach José Mourinho.
For their part, AC Milan was eliminated at the San Siro after losing 1-0 to Manchester United in the main tie of this round.
After the 1-1 of the first leg at Old Trafford, everything was open for the return in the Lombard capital and there the Frenchman Paul Pogba decided, with a goal at the beginning of the second half (49).
Along with Manchester United, the other Englishman who sealed his passport to the quarterfinals was Arsenal, who lost 1 to 0 at home due to a goal from Youssef El Arabi (51), but the ‘Gunners’ claimed the 3-1 victory. on the first leg in Greece.
After being left without representatives in the quarterfinals of the Champions League and the fall of Milan this Thursday in the Europa League, Roma remains as the only asset of ‘Calcio’ in European competitions, after eliminating Shakhtar (2-1 this Thursday in Ukraine , 3-0 in the first leg).
In the other matches, Czech Slavia Prague eliminated recent Scottish champion Glasgow Rangers (2-0, 1-1 in the first leg) and Dutch Ajax defeated Swiss Young Boys (2-0, 3-0 in the first leg). Going).
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