Olympique de Marseille will face Benfica in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, while Lille will face Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League.
Games are made! Nyon (Switzerland), on Friday 15 March, drew the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League. Marseille will face second-placed Portuguese club Benfica in their Championship. Unlike the Champions League, Benfica already have three Europa League finals. The Phocians avoid Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen, the current leaders in the English and German championships, and will have the advantage of playing the return leg at home.
Olympique de Marseille will have a chance to take revenge in this way, 34 years after they were controversially knocked out of the Champions League by the Portuguese club in 1990. While OM won the first leg (2-1), Wata scored a hand goal. In the return match (1-0) and 7 minutes from time entered the final against Phocaeans.
Should they qualify for the semi-finals, Marseille will face the winner of a doubleheader between Liverpool and Atanta Bergamo. On the menu for the other two quarters, an Italian derby as AC Milan take on AS Roma and a poster between Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen and surprise English club West Ham.
In the Round of 16 return, OM came close to sinking on Thursday, March 14, a comeback that took shape when Villarreal went 3-0 from 4-0 down in their first act, before Jonathan Kloss reduced the score. Added time (3-1).
Checking in at home (2-2), Benfica for its part managed to validate its presence in the quarters with a 1-0 win over Glasgow Rangers.
The quarter-finals of the Europa League will be played on Thursdays, April 11 and 18. The final of the competition will be played on May 22 at the Dublin Arena in Ireland.
- Quarter-final table
AC Milan – AS Roma
Liverpool – Atlanta Bergamo
Bayer Leverkusen – West Ham
Benfica – Marseille
- Semi-final table :
Liverpool-Atalanta vs Benfica – Winner of Marseille
AS Roma- Vs. Winner of Bayer Leverkusen-West Ham
Lille is the biggest team in the Europa Conference League
For its first participation in the European Cup quarter-finals, Lille drew the heavyweights of this stage of the competition: Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, who eliminated Ajax Amsterdam on Thursday March 14, won the return leg (4-0). The Basque coach, currently 4th in the Premier League, specializes in big nights in the European Cup, having won four Europa Leagues (three with Sevilla FC and one with Villarreal).
Lily will also benefit from a return match at home. If they qualify, Paulo Fonseca’s side will meet the winner of the clash between Greek FC Olympiakos and Turkish club Fenerbahce. Both are playing for titles in their respective championships.
In the round of 16, Lille eliminated Austrians Sturm Graz (3–0), with an away performance and a double from the in-form Jonathan David. In the return match, Thursday March 14, Lille was content to manage their advantage (1-1).
The first leg will be played on April 11 and the return leg on April 18. The semi-finals will be played on May 2 and 9. Note that with two Greek clubs still in action, the table drawn this Friday March 15 could result in the Greek final on May 29 at the Agia Sophia Stadium… in Athens, Greece.
- Quarter-final table
Club Brugge – PAOK FC
FC Olympiakos – Fenerbahçe
Aston Villa – Lille
Viktoria Plzen – Fiorentina
- Semi-final table
Aston Villa or Lille – FC Olympiakos or Fenerbahce
Viktoria Plzen or Fiorentina – Club Brugge – PAOK FC
