Madrid, March 7. The potential of the Spanish La Liga and the German Bundesliga, the competitions most represented in the Europa League round of 16, challenges the formidable reputation of the Prime Minister, exposed from the qualifying rounds by Arsenal and Manchester United, two of the leaders of the English tournament. in the current course.
The second continental competition returns to normality after finishing qualifying before the round of 16. The champions of the group stage enter the scene, whose opponents are the winners of the duels between those of the Champions League and the runners-up of the groups.
Thus, three Spaniards, Betis, Real Sociedad and Seville, and as many Germans, such as Bayer Leverkusen, Union Berlin and Freiburg, are part of the poster for the round of 16. In addition to England’s United and Arsenal, Juventus and Roma support this part of the competition.
Consequent confrontations, at the highest continental level, give brilliance to the round. Among them, Manchester United and Betis, two of the candidates for the home stretch. The English team became the big favorite of the event. Erik Ten Hag’s side who left Barcelona behind have gone from less to more. The brand new League Cup champion meets the Sevillian team of Chilean Manuel Pellegrini who in his time led Manchester City with whom he won a Premiership.
On a similar level is the head-to-head between Roma and Real Sociedad. Spanish football reunites with Jose Mourinho who won the Conference League last season. He receives the San Sebastian team on Thursday, one of the best news in La Liga which has fallen in recent games. “We beat Manchester United in the group stage. Why can’t we beat Roma?” said San Sebastian coach Imanol Alguacil.
The trajectory and history of Sevilla in the Europa League elevates them to the status of candidate for Jorge Sampaoli’s team despite the bad moment and the doubts generated from the first leg of the course. The continental tournament is a lifeline for the Sevilla team, far from their expectations so far and threatened with relegation to Spain. A new European title can make up for the troubles of the season.
After overcoming the previous qualifying round, Sevilla, six-time champion, faces, eager to forget the victory conceded on Saturday against Atlético Madrid, the Turkish Fenerbahçe led by the Portuguese Jorge Jesús, whom he had met in the 2014 final then that he was training for Benfica.
Arsenal is cited with the Portuguese Sporting. The London team, leader of the Prime Minister and intractable in this tournament, is measured against the Lisbon team which was eliminated from the Champions League on the last day, in a dramatic way. It will be a special duel for the Spaniard Héctor Bellerín. The Spanish winger, after a short stint in Barcelona, went to Portugal. He is now reunited with Arsenal, where he played for several seasons.
Juventus is another of the teams that gives luster to the competition. A regular in the Champions League, with no way of claiming the Serie A title, survives the continental tournament. Freiburg is measured, one of the representatives of German football who has aspired for several weeks to the leadership of the Bundesliga. Now out of the fight for first place, he has the challenge of the quarter-finals between his eyes.
“Football always gives opportunities like these. In other sports, small teams don’t have many chances, but in football it can happen,” says German team coach Christian Strech.
Bayer Leverkusen have more experience and a continental background, which has been revived by Spanish coach Xabi Alonso. He came out of the Champions League with flying colors. They took third place at the expense of Atlético Madrid and then led the duel with Monaco. The German team, more and more in the season, faces Ferencvaros in the round of 16.
Two of the revelation teams of the season are found in this section of the Europa League. Union Berlin, one of the leaders of the Bundesliga which challenges the domination of Bayern Munich, and the Belgian Union Saint Gillioise, surprising in the group stage of the Europa League.
The confrontation between the Ukrainian Shakhtar, also from the Champions League and who survived, on penalties, the draw against Stade Rennes, and Feyenoord, dominating the Netherlands League, completes the program of the Europa League. EFE
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