Forest Lose While 3 See Red - UEFA Europa League Round of 16 First Leg In Review: Thursday's Matches As They Happened

Forest Lose While 3 See Red - UEFA Europa League Round of 16 First Leg In Review: Thursday's Matches As They Happened

We are back with the EFA Europa League this week and we see the first legs of the knockout phase. With many top clubs going head-to-head, we can see what has happened and who will go into the second leg with the advantage.

We will be covering all 8 matches and in those matches there were 13 goals scored and 3 red cards given out. We will be covering all the action here at Football Park.

Bologna 1-1 Roma

We start with one of the matches that sees two heavy hitters from the Italian league face off. This was a game that ideally Bologna wanted to win; having the home leg first, you need that advantage; however, they couldn’t achieve that.

The match started slowly with both teams not being able to find the back of the net. However, it did show what Bologna wanted from this match. They limited Roma to just 2 shots and none on target while having 5 of their own. The second half would start and that pressure from the first half would finally pay off as Federico Bernardeschi would score, making it 1-0. This would change the game, as now it was down to Roma to put the pressure on. They did this. It finally paid off with Lorenzo Pellegrini scoring to level the game.

It was a game of 2 halves. The first half saw Bologna dominate and control the game; however, they couldn’t make anything count. This ended up punishing them, as while they did take the lead, the second half would see a change. They now need to go to Rome and hope that they can push this over the line.

Lille 0-1 Aston Villa

Out of the 8 English teams currently playing in Europe, Villa will be the only team taking an advantage into the second leg. It is a tie, and Villa is now likely to win, getting to take a 1-goal advantage back home.

It wasn’t a game that showed loads of quality in the attacking front, however. Once again, it was a game that started very slow. Nothing happened in the first half, with Villa being locked out by Lille. The second half would see a massive change as Lille would have to use 2 subs, with both Benjamin André and Gaëtan Perrin coming off injured. This would leave Villa with the ability in the 61st minute to have their first and only shot on target. Ollie Watkins took it well and scored, making it 1-0. After that Lille struggled to make much to answer and this was how the game ended.

It was a game where neither team managed much. Neither side could make 1 xG in the 90 minutes, with Villa making 0.51. While it wasn’t a game that showed a high level of attacking ability, Villa won’t care, as it makes them even more likely to get that place in the quarter finals.

Panathinaikos 1-0 Real Betis

In a match that saw two sides playing in the UEFA Conference League last season face off, we saw the side from Greece take the 1-0 advantage. It was a game that saw only 1 goal but did see some reds as tempers flared up.

Once again it was a quiet first half with Betis having the majority of the ball and chances. However, the second half would change this, as in the 49th minute Anass Zaroury would see a yellow card. Only 10 minutes later he would see a second and get his marching orders. It looked like now Betis would finally get some daylight. Until the 87th minute, when Diego Llorente would level the playing field, getting his second yellow. However, that wasn’t bad enough; he gave away a penalty. Vicente Taborda would slot it away down the middle.

Can the Conference League runners-up turn this around in Spain? With their quality, they will be hoping that they can.

VfB Stuttgart 1-2 FC Porto

This was yet another match that saw two of the strongest teams in the competition go head-to-head and the Portuguese side walked away with a strong victory in Germany. They are now in a very strong position to win this tie and advance.

It is the first match we have looked at that had drama in the first half. The goals started in the 21st minute with Terem Moffi making it 1-0 for Porto. It would then be doubled with teenage sensation Rodrigo Mora scoring. Deniz Undav would pull one back for Stuttgart in the 40th minute; however, that wasn’t enough. It looked like they had a goal to level the match until Angelo Stiller was seen as offside in the VAR check.

Porto will now be taking this win back home with them, where they will play the second leg. They will hope that they can repeat this game again and advance into the next stage of the competition.

Celta Vigo 1-1 Lyon

This was one of the most evenly matched games when it comes to the quality of chances created. While Lyon had 4 times the shots, 13 of them came from outside the box, showing the pressure that was on them.

The goals started in the 25th minute when Javi Rueda put Celta Vigo ahead. This would stay like this until the 55th minute, where Lyon would have their best time to take the lead. Celta Vigo had defended well but Borja Iglesias would see a second yellow and they would go down to 10. They would still hold strong until the 87th minute. Finally, Lyon had their goal, and it came from Real Madrid loanee Endrick.

Lyon will be thankful they could find the equaliser. They will now be going back to France on equal levels and have the home fans behind them as they look to push for the win. For Celta Vigo it will feel like heartbreak defending and playing well for so long.

Ferencváros 2-0 Braga

This was a game that showed that you don’t need possession to dominate the game. Having only 30% of the ball all game, Ferencváros still managed to walk away with a very strong advantage.

It started fast, with Ferencváros taking the lead in the 32nd minute as Gabi Kanishowsky scored. This lead would then be doubled with Lenny Joseph scoring to make it 2-0 and finish off this match. It was a game that they dominated, having the better chances even without the possession. They sat compact, limiting Braga to just 8 shots and an xG of 0.59.

They will be hoping that they can have a similar effect when they go to Portugal in the reverse leg. However, it will be hard, as Braga will have the fans behind them and will know what they need to do.

Genk 1-0 Freiburg

This was a match that Genk deserved to win. They had more chances and created the higher xG while limiting Freiburg to just 5 shots all game. They will be hoping this is enough when they go to Germany in the second leg.

It looked like it had started badly, as in the 8th minute, Johan Manzambi had the ball in the back of the net. However, they would be saved as VAR would have a look and disallow the goal for an offside. Genk would then get their chance on the 24th minute as Zakaria El Quanhdi would score, making it 1-0. This would be how it ended in Belgium.

Freiburg will be disappointed by their performance, struggling to make a lot and getting limited even while having the same amount of possession. The home fans will hope that they can help them to come back and win.

Nottingham Forest 0-1 FC Midtjylland

Forest will join Chelsea, Spurs and Manchester City this week in the English sides losing the first leg. Having put out a strong side, they would’ve hoped for a lot more than what they actually got.

It was a game that Forest dominated but they couldn’t get anything to count. Olafsson was having one of his best games, saving every chance that they managed to put at him, and it looked like it could be a matter of time until Forest actually made one count. However, instead, Gue-Sung Cho would be the hero. One of Midtjylland's few attacks and they made it count. In the 80th minute Ousmane Diao would put a nice ball into the box that would lead to the goal. It looks like Midtjylland could cause a massive upset going into their home leg, 1-0 up.

Forest has a mountain to climb to try and advance. They have failed to make their home leg count, and this could be dangerous for them as they look to continue in the competition.