The second round of knockout matches in the Europa League is off to a flying start as the remaining sixteen clubs from nine countries battle it out for an advantage going into the second-leg games next Thursday. The winners will be drawn for the quarterfinals on Friday, March 20th.
Zenit St. Petersburg 2-0 Torino
The night kicked off in St. Petersburg where Zenit hosted Italian opposition, Torino, a team that narrowly squeaked by Athletic Bilbao to move on to the round of 16. The evening did not start out favorably for the visitors, who found themselves down to ten men when Benassi received his second yellow just 28 minutes into play and was given marching orders. With the one-man advantage, Zenit controlled much of the match and enjoyed 62% of the possession and several cracks at goal. They had a relatively quiet first half as Torino packed their crippled back line but just seven minutes before the interval, Witsel found the breakthrough for Zenit when he got on the end of a blocked shot from Shatov. In the 53rd minute coming out of the halftime break, Zenit struck again with a series of passes that ended at the feet of the Italian Cristico who shot to give his team a 2-0 advantage when they pay a visit to Italy next week.
Wolfsburg 3-1 Internazionale
In spite of falling behind to Internazionale at home in just six minutes of play, Wolfsburg, who sit eleven points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich but an impressive nine points ahead of third place Borussia Monchengladbach, rallied and came back to win it 3-1 on the night. The former Chelsea man Kevin De Bruyne was the talk of the town after his leading role in Wolfsburg’s comeback, scoring two of their goals in the 63rd and 76th minute and assisted the first-half equalizer from Naldo in the 28th minute off of a corner kick. The hosts enjoyed 56% of the possession and will take a two-goal advantage with them when they travel to Milan for the second leg.
Brugge 2-1 Besiktas
It looked as though Besiktas were going to come away from their match in Belgium with an away goal advantage until Refaelov put Brugge 2-1 up at home with a penalty kick ten minutes from time. The visitors, coming off the high of a thrilling penalty-shootout win against English giants Liverpool, found the back of the net first just after the start of the second half when Tore used some great individual skill to dribble through Brugge’s defense and smash a shot into the corner past Ryan. De Sutter’s goal in the 62nd minute looked to be the last goal of the match with Brugge’s solid defense (the best in the competition) but Gedoz was taken down in the box by Kurtulus in the 79th minute and the penalty was fired home to give the hosts the win on the night.
Dnipro 1-0 Ajax
While the away side dominated when Dnipro hosted Ajax, it was the home side that prevailed and will bring a precious goal advantage with them to the Netherlands next week. Zozulya was the man to find the back of the net 30 minutes into the match with a brilliant left-footed shot to give his side the lead. With the loss, Ajax’s seven-game unbeaten run in all competitions came to a disappointing end in Ukraine and Dnipro snagged their first victory in their first appearance in the round of 16.
Everton 2-1 Dynamo Kyiv
The remaining English side in the Europa League, Everton, staged a grand comeback at home after they conceded early on to Dynamo Kyiv at St. Goodison Park in Liverpool on Thursday night. While Kyiv are unbeaten in the Ukrainian Premier League since the restart after the winter break, Everton proved to be a challenge for them. Gusev opened the scoring on the night with his goal for the visitors in the 14th minute, putting a low corner kick past Tim Howard. Everton found inspiration just before the halftime break when their main man on the night, Romeo Lukaku, beautifully set up Naismith for the equalizer. Lukaku would also find the back of the net himself eight minutes from time when he converted a penalty kick to give Everton the win.
Villareal 1-3 Sevilla
Sevilla were keen on showing that they were in fact the reigning Europa League champions when they faced off against their countrymen in Villareal. Although the hosts dominated in possession, they were already a goal behind with just 13 seconds as Vitolo broke through Villareal’s backline on Sevilla’s first push up, collected the ball neatly on his chest and volleyed it past Asenjo to set a new record for the fasted goal scored in the Europa League. The home side battled back hard, dominating in possession but remained unable to find the back of the net. Mbia made their night even worse 26 minutes in by finding the back of the net for Sevilla with a fabulous diving header. Just three minutes after the restart, Vietto breathed some life into his side’s attack with a dribbling goal past Rico in the midst of a scramble inside Sevilla’s penalty area but it wasn’t enough when Gameiro fired home a powerful shot in the 50th minute to restore their two goal lead. Sevilla have a foot in the door to the quarterfinals and are in good shape to continue defending their title.
Napoli 3-1 Dinamo Moscow
Former Real Madrid man Gonzalo Higauin had a night to remember for Napoli as he netted a hattrick against their Russian opposition, Dinamo Moscow. It was not a good night in Italy for the visitors in spite of starting out well. If it weren’t for Vitolo’s thirteen-second goal over in Spain, Moscow could have recorded the fastest goal on the night when Kuranyi scored a header just two minutes in. That would prove to be the only highlight of the night for Dinamo Moscow. Higuain struck 25 minutes in and just six minutes later found the back of the net for his brace when he converted a penalty kick. From there, Cherchesov’s men struggled to contain Napoli and were eventually down a man just moments into the second forty-five when Zobnin was booked for the second time and sent off. Higuain topped off his night with his third goal in the 55th minute and Napoli take a convincing lead to Russia next week.
Fiorentina 1-1 Roma
Fiorentina were lucky to come away with a draw as the Europa League night finished with an all Italian fixture in Florence. While the hosts looked promising in the opening minutes of the game and scored the first goal in the 17th minute, they were unable to find any momentum following Ilic’s strike and went on to play out a dull and dramatic game. Roma took charge in the second half, proving to be a handful for Fiorentina’s defense. In the 60th minute, Neto was penalized for bringing down Iturbe. Players from both teams immediately surrounded the referee but the decision ultimately went in favor of the visitors. Video replay suggested that if there was any contact with the front-runner for Roma, it was minimal but since Neto failed to touch the ball, he faced Ljajic on the penalty spot. Neto did a splendid job to deny the Serbian a goal and the hosts maintained their lead. Roma were looking the better side and had gained their momentum, un-phased by the missed penalty. Keita was the one to find the equalizer and the precious away goal when he scored in the 77th minute.
