2019 Europa League Quarter Final Second Leg Review

The Europa League quarter final second legs began with a seven goal thriller at Stamford Bridge as Chelsea edged out a 4-3 win over Slavia Prague to advance 5-3 on aggregate.

A rapid start from the Blues saw Pedro and Olivier Giroud strike either side of an unfortunate own goal for Simon Deli for a 3-0 lead and huge 4-0 aggregate advantage. Slavia cut the gap through Tomas Soucek before Pedro's second goal on 27 minutes looked to have wrapped up the tie at 4-1 (5-1 agg). The visitors had other ideas as a rapid brace from Petr Sevcik made it 4-3 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate but to no avail as Chelsea held on to advance.

Eintracht Frankfurt overturned a 4-2 first leg deficit with a 2-0 win over Benfica which saw the Germans advance on away goals after drawing 4-4 on aggregate. Filip Kostic made it 1-0 (3-4 agg) on 36 minutes before Sebastian Rode doubled the lead and levelled on aggregate in the 67th minute. Late drama saw Benfica denied a potential winner by Frankfurt 'keeper Kevin Trapp who's save ensured the Germans advanced on away goals.

Arsenal kept up the chances of an all English final as they reached the last four after a 1-0 win and 3-0 aggregate victory over Napoli.

The Gunners extended their 2-0 first leg advantage with Alexander Lacazette's 36th minute effort which proved to be enough to secure the win and a place in the last four.

They will meet Valencia who eased through 5-1 on aggregate after a 2-0 win over fellow La Liga side Villarreal.

'Toni Lato' put the hosts ahead on 13 minutes to make it 1-0 (3-1 agg)) before the win and advancement were secured by Daniel Parejo's 54th minute strike for 2-0 (5-1 agg) as they setup a tie with Arsenal in the last four.

2019 Champions League Quarter Final Second Leg Reviews

Manchester United's hopes of reaching the last four ended with a 3-0 loss at Barcelona with the Catalans advancing 4-0 on aggregate.

A brace from Lionel Messi in the 16th and 20th minutes left United with a huge task at 2-0 (3-0 agg) and their slim hopes were dashed on the hour as Philippe Coutinho wrapped up the tie at 3-0 (4-0 agg).

Ajax upset the odds with a famous 3-2 aggregate win over Juventus after a 2-1 victory in Turin.

Cristiano Ronaldo put Juve 1-0 up (2-1 agg) before Donny Van de Beek levelled the game and the tie on 34 minutes. Matthijs de Ligt put Ajax ahead with a 67th minute strike and the 2-1 (3-2 agg) lead proved to be enough to send them into the last four.
                                                                                   

Liverpool eased into the last four with a 4-1 win at FC Porto to advance 6-1 on aggregate.

Sadio Mane opened the scoring on the night on 26 minutes before Mo Salah doubled the lead on 65 minutes to open up a huge 4-0 lead on aggregate. Porto replied through Eder Militao three minutes later for 2-1 (4-1) before strikes from Roberto Firmino and Virgil Van Dijk wrapped up a comfortable advance into the semis.

An epic seven goal thriller saw Manchester City claim a 4-3 win over Tottenham Hotspur at the Etihad Stadium. The victory proved not enough to prevent Spurs from advancing on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate.

The sides set a new CL record with five goals inside the first 21 minutes, Raheem Sterling's brace and Bernardo Silva's strike sandwiching a Son Heung-Min brace as City led 3-2 (3-3 agg). Sergio Aguero struck on the hour for 4-2 also giving City a 4-3 aggregate advantage. City's joy was soon dented on 73 minutes by Fernando Llorente's effort which cut the gap to 4-3 but regained Spurs' aggregate advantage on away goals at 4-4. Late drama saw City look to have sealed a place in the last four as Sterling completed his hat-trick but a VAR decision saw the goal ruled out due to offside sending Spurs through on away goals. 

2019 Europa League Quarter Final First Legs Review

The Europa League quarter finals began on the 11th with Arsenal securing a 2-0 lead on aggregate over Napoli.

The Gunners opened the scoring through Aaron Ramsey on 14 minutes before Kalidou Koulibaly gifted them a second with an own goal on 25 minutes.

A six-goal thriller saw Benfica claim a 4-2 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. The visitors suffered a double blow with the dismissal of Evan Ndikca and Joao Felix Sequeira slotting in the resulting penalty for 1-0. Luka Jovic levelled before a second for Sequeira made it 2-1.

A Bruno Dias strike extended the lead before Sequeira completed his hat-trick for 4-1. Frankfurt struck a second away goal on 72 minutes as Goncalo Paciencia cut the gap.

Chelsea claimed a narrow 1-0 win away to Slavia Prague which gives them an away goal advantage for the second leg.

The crucial strike came with four minutes left of the 90 as Marcos Alonso struck for the Blues.

An all La Liga tie saw Valencia securing a 3-1 lead over Villarreal in the first leg.

The visitors opened the scoring with an early effort from Goncalo Guedes inside six minutes before Santi Cazorla levelled with a 36th minute penalty. Valencia left it late to claim the win with a second strike from Guedes coupled with a Daniel Wass effort for 3-1.

2019 Champions League Quarter Final First Legs Review

The Champions League Quarter finals began on the ninth with 2018 finalists Liverpool gaining a 2-0 first leg advantage against FC Porto.

The Reds struck an early opener through Naby Keita before a Roberto Firmino strike doubled the lead on 26 minutes. Porto's lack of an away goal could be pivotal to the tie.

An all PL tie saw Tottenham claim a narrow first leg advantage with a 1-0 win over Manchester City.

The crucial strike came on 78 minutes as Son Heung-Min sealed the win for Spurs.

The second half of the stage saw Juventus claim an away goal advantage after drawing 1-1 with Ajax.

The Italians went ahead just before half-time through Cristiano Ronaldo but were pegged back instantly after the restart by a David Neres leveller for 1-1. The score remained level leaving the hosts needing to score in the second leg to avoid an exit.

Barcelona left Manchester United with a tough task for the second leg after claiming a 1-0 away win. The crucial away goal came inside 12 minutes as a cross found United defender Luke Shaw who was unable to prevent an own goal for 1-0. 

2018/19 Europa League Last 16 Second Leg Review

Chelsea eased into the last eight with a 5-0 win at Dynamo Kyiv which completed an 8-0 aggregate success.

Olivier Giroud struck a first half brace in the fifth and 33rd minutes for 2-0 before Marcos Alonso set-up a 3-0 half-time advantage. Giroud completed his hat-trick on the hour before Callum Hudson-Odoi added a fifth on 78 minutes.

Napoli secured a 4-3 aggregate win despite suffering a 3-1 loss at Red Bull Salzburg.

Arkadiusz Milik put the Italians ahead on 14 minutes before Munas Dabbur levelled on 25 minutes. Fredrik Gulbrandsen cut the gap on aggregate to 4-2 before Christoph Leitgeb sealed the win on the night late on as Salzburg exited the competition.

Valencia left it late to claim a 3-2 aggregate win as they drew 1-1 at Krasnodar. A tight game saw Magomed Suleymanov give the hosts the lead on 85 minutes and level at 2-2 on aggregate, giving Krasnodar the away goals rule advantage. Valencia ended any worries of an exit in added time as Goncalo Guedes equalised to send the Catalan side into the next round.

Arsenal overturned a 3-1 first leg deficit to win 4-3 on aggregate after a 3-0 home win over Rennes. Early strikes from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Ainsley Maitland-Niles drew the Gunners level on aggregate at 3-3 before Aubameyang wrapped up the win and a place in the net round on 71 minutes.

Benfica needed extra time to complete a second leg turnaround with a 3-1 aggregate win over Dinamo Zagreb.

Jonas Oliveira levelled the tie on aggregate on 71 minutes with no further strike leading to extra time. Francisco Ferreira gave the hosts the aggregate lead before a double blow for Dinamo saw Peter Stojanovic dismissed and Alex Grimaldo strike for 3-0 on the night and confirm the aggregate win.

Eintracht Frankfurt advanced to the last eight with a narrow 1-0 aggregate win over Inter Milan. The sides played out a goalless first leg but in the second, the crucial strike came after just five minutes as Luka Jovic struck.

A seven goal thriller saw Slavia Prague overcome competition legends Sevilla with a 6-5 aggregate win.

The hosts took just 14 minutes to  take the lead overall as Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui struck for 1-0 (3-2)before Wissam Ben Yedder levelled at 1-1 (3-3) from the penalty spot. A penalty after the interval from Tomas Soucek restored the hosts' lead at 2-1 (4-3).

Munir El Haddadi levelled eight minutes later for Sevilla and at 2-2 (4-4) the tie went into extra time. Franco Vazquez put Sevilla 3-2 (5-4) ahead but it was to be Slavia's night as Mick Van Buren and Ibrahim Traore made it 4-3 and dumped Sevilla out of the competition.

Villarreal completed the lineup of the last eight with a 2-1 win over Zenit St Petersburg which resulted in a 5-2 aggregate success. Gerard Moreno and Carlos Bacca struck either side of the interval for 2-1 and 5-1 overall with the final say going to Zenit as Branislav Ivanovic struck in added time.

2018/19 FA Cup Sixth Round Review

An top flight London derby opened the round on Saturday as Watford edged a 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.

The Hornets took the lead through Etienne Capoue on 27 minutes before Michy Batshuayi equalised on the hour. The hosts secured a semi-final berth with 11 minutes to go as Andre Gray struck.

Manchester City left it late to avoid a huge shock exit at the hands of Swansea City with a 3-2 win.
The Swans opened up a 2-0 lead inside the half hour with a Matt Grimes penalty and stunning strike from ex-City striker Bersant Celina. 

City hit back through Bernardo Silva before an unfortunate own goal from Kristoffer Nordfeldt drew them level at 2-2. The turnaround was completed two minutes from the end as Sergio Aguero headed in for 3-2.

Wolverhampton Wanderers continued their good run in the competition with a 2-1 success over Manchester United.

The game was a tight affair past the hour mark before Raul Jimenez slotted in for 1-0 on 70 minutes. Diogo Jota doubled the lead for the Wolves just six minutes later who just abut held on for the win after a frantic finish saw Marcus Rashford give United hope in added time.

The final tie of the round went all the way as Brighton & Hove Albion secured a 5-4 win on penalties after drawing 2-2 with Millwall.

Alex Pearce and Aidan O'Brien gave the hosts a 2-0 lead with just 11 minutes to go before a stunning fightback by Brighton saw Jurgen Locadia and Solly March force extra-time. All square with extra-time drawing to a close, Millwall suffered a late blow with the dismissal of Shane Ferguson then on penalties suffered a 5-4 loss with Jake Cooper blazing over after Lewis Dunk had given Brighton the advantage in sudden death.

2018/19 Champions League Last 16 Second Leg Reviews

After a comfortable opening leg victory, Tottenham Hotspur wrapped up a 4-0 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund.

Spurs claimed a 1-0 win in Germany with the crucial goal coming three minutes after half-time from Harry Kane. 

Ajax staged a huge upset as they dumped holders Real Madrid out with a 5-3 aggregate win. The visitors cruised to a 4-1 win at the Bernabeu which began with Hakim Ziyech and David Neres firing them 2-0 up inside 20 minutes.

Dusan Tadic made it 3-0 before Madrid cut the gap to 3-1 (4-3 agg) on 70 minutes before Lasse Schone wrapped up the win two minutes later. Madrid's evening only got worse as Nacho was dismissed in added time.





After reaching the semi's last season, Roma's hopes came to an end with a 3-1 loss (4-3 agg) to FC Porto.

Francisco Soares put Porto ahead on 26 minutes before Daniele De Rossi levelled at 1-1 (2-3 agg). Porto levelled on aggregate through Moussa Marega before the hour mark for a 2-1 lead on the night. The tie though would be decided in extra time as Alex Telles slotted in a 116th minute penalty to secure a place in the last eight for the Portuguese side.

Manchester United left it late to stun Paris St Germain as they advanced on away goals after a 3-1 win (3-3 agg). Romelu Lukaku gave them the lead on the night inside two minutes before Juan Bernat levelled at 1-1 and restored PSG's two goal aggregate lead. Lukaku struck again on the half hour for 2-1 (2-3 agg) but United needed more to avoid an exit, cue Marcus Rashford who slotted in a last-gasp spot kick to wrap up the win and sent United through via the away goals rule.



Juventus staged a huge fightback from their 2-0 first leg defeat to Atletico Madrid as they claimed a 3-0 win  to advance 3-2 on aggregate.

Cristiano Ronaldo spearheaded the Old Lady's comeback with a hat-trick, he struck the first on 26 minutes before adding a second three minutes after half time. The place in the last eight was confirmed four minutes from the end as he slotted in from the penalty spot.

Manchester City eased into the last eight with a 7-0 win over Schalke 04 who after being edged 3-2 in the opening leg suffered a 10-2 aggregate loss. A first half Sergio Aguero brace and Leroy Sané strike put City in control at 3-0 (6-2 agg) before they ran riot in the second half with Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva, Phil Foden and Gabriel Jesus all contributing goals.

The final two ties took place on Wednesday evening, Barcelona cruising to a 5-1 win on aggregate over Olympique Lyonnais after a goalless first leg.

Lionel Messi put the Catalans ahead on 18 minutes before Philippe Coutinho doubled the advantage on the half hour. Lyon cut the gap just before the hour mark through Lucas Tousart but it proved to be sheer consolation as Barca wrapped up the win with a Messi penalty ahead of strikes from Gerard Pique and Ousmane Dembele.

Liverpool and Bayern Munich also had a goalless first leg, the reverse meeting saw the Reds celebrating a 3-1 aggregate success.

Sadio Mané's superb opener on 26 minutes was followed by a leveller for Bayern as Joel Matip was helpless to prevent deflecting into his own net on 38 minutes. Virgil van Dijk restored the lead with a poweful header on 70 minutes before Mané struck again six minutes from the end to send last seasons runners-up into the last eight.