2014-15 Europa League: Dammit

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SoxFanInCali

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PedroSpecialK said:
To be fair to him, he at least stepped up, though I would have preferred Touré. Where the hell was Sterling?
You might remember Sterling as the only guy who missed in the 14-13 shootout win earlier this season.  Either he didn't have the confidence to take it, or Rodgers didn't want him to take one.
 

WayBackVazquez

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SoxFanInCali said:
You might remember Sterling as the only guy who missed in the 14-13 shootout win earlier this season.  Either he didn't have the confidence to take it, or Rodgers didn't want him to take one.
 
Reading between the lines, I'm guessing it was the former.
 
"[Dejan] was happy [to take a penalty]," said Rodgers. "All the five penalty takers who opted to and wanted to take a penalty were all confident."
 

AirborneSas

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Round of 16 draw today at 1300 CET.
 
Matches 12/19 March
 
AFC Ajax (NED)
Beşiktaş JK (TUR)
Club Brugge KV (BEL)
FC Dinamo Moskva (RUS)
FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR)
FC Dynamo Kyiv (UKR)
Everton FC (ENG)
ACF Fiorentina (ITA)
FC Internazionale Milano (ITA)
SSC Napoli (ITA)
AS Roma (ITA)
Sevilla FC (ESP)
Torino FC (ITA)
Villarreal CF (ESP)
VfL Wolfsburg (GER)
FC Zenit (RUS)
 

Senator Donut

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Titans Bastard said:
First half stoppage time goals for Torino and Roma that give both a one-goal lead and provide protection in the form of an equal number of away goals as their opponents.  Good night for the Italians so far.  Usually Serie A tanks in the Europa.
It looks like the Champions League berth has had its desired effect. Inter and Torino are mid-table sides and Fiorentina has an outside chance of finishing in the top three. Winning Europa is their only realistic chance of entering the competition. Napoli and Roma will likely qualify via the traditional method.

Good thing UEFA banned Parma from this competition, huh?
 

Bailey10

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[SIZE=12pt]Draw:[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=12pt]Everton (ENG) v Dynamo Kiev (UKR)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR) v Ajax (NED)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS) v Torino (ITA)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]VfL Wolfsburg (GER) v Inter Milan (ITA)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Villarreal (ESP) v Sevilla (ESP)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Napoli (ITA) v Dinamo Moscow (RUS) [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Club Brugge (BEL) v Besiktas (TUR)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Fiorentina (ITA) v Roma (ITA)[/SIZE]
 
Interesting that UEFA took the decision to purposely keep Russian and Ukranian teams apart in the draw. I wonder how they will handle it if those 4 teams keep advancing in the tournament. For instance, could you purposely keep teams apart in a semifinal? That would raise serious questions about competitive balance.
 

Titans Bastard

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Bailey10 said:
[SIZE=12pt]Draw:[/SIZE]
 
[SIZE=12pt]Everton (ENG) v Dynamo Kiev (UKR)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (UKR) v Ajax (NED)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Zenit St. Petersburg (RUS) v Torino (ITA)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]VfL Wolfsburg (GER) v Inter Milan (ITA)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Villarreal (ESP) v Sevilla (ESP)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Napoli (ITA) v Dinamo Moscow (RUS) [/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Club Brugge (BEL) v Besiktas (TUR)[/SIZE]
[SIZE=12pt]Fiorentina (ITA) v Roma (ITA)[/SIZE]
 
Interesting that UEFA took the decision to purposely keep Russian and Ukranian teams apart in the draw. I wonder how they will handle it if those 4 teams keep advancing in the tournament. For instance, could you purposely keep teams apart in a semifinal? That would raise serious questions about competitive balance.
 
Playing both legs on neutral ground is an option that may be considered.  Until then, the UEFA will be big fans of Everton, Ajax, Napoli, and Torino.
 

Tony the Pony

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Spacemans Bong said:
Someone in Het Legioen also throw a banana on the pitch suspiciously close to Gervinho. I've read claims that bananas in the crowd is a bit of a Feyenoord thing, but a lot of people aren't buying it. Considering their form for chants I don't think I am either.
 
The ref's having a bit of a shocker though. The red was fair, but he's definitely been giving calls Roma's way.
 
A lot of people don't know shit about football, and you're one of them.
 
There have been games with dozens of bananas. The 1992 Spurs-away video has circulated here (I was there, myself) and I just checked as I seem to remember a bunch of bananas flying around at WHL that match (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqlMIkKNfS4 - 0.52 to 1.02 you can see some flying)
 
Inflatable bananas, just like inflatable beach balls and Popsicles are as common at Feyenoord as beach balls are at Fenway Park. Roma should shut the fuck up about racism, and all you dumb assholes parroting whatever shit the media stirs up make me sick. 
 
The UEFA definitely didn't Feyenoord to win, and the ref was a disaster. Both red cards were shocking, nothing fair about either of them. That 11 yo French piece of shit was a disgrace, and so is AS fuckin Roma and their pussy fans and front office trying to entice the UEFA to punish Feyenoord as severely as possible for racism because a inflatable banana landed on the pitch.
 
Sure, we all know who the real racists are. Those fucktard spineless spaghetti turks that are worldclass in whining, bitching, moaning and attacking and stabbing opposing fans when they have a huge numerical advantage, but otherwise are merely scum. Fuck 'em. And fuck the uefa
 
 

Schnerres

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After seeing some highlights of the match and most importantly reading some of these posts, i can say....
 
1) It was the first match ever, in which a ref made wrong calls or gave a red card on a harsh decision.
2) We all can live with the thief in our house, as long as the murderer is taken to prison.
3) Bananas are regularly promoted in football stadiums due to some footballers needing vitamins.
4) Football fans are really smart people and really never, ever have problems with aggression.
 
David Attenborough:
...some animals should live in a zoo.
 

Titans Bastard

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Zenit 2-0 Torino
Dnipro 1-0 Ajax
Wolfsburg 3-1 Inter
Brugge 2-1 Besiktas
 
What can be said?  The home teams took care of business, but all four losers still have a fighting chance at home.  Big win for Wolfsburg.  If they can make a deep run in the Europa and things break right in the Champions League, Germany could overtake England in the coefficient rankings.
 

fletcherpost

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Everton down a goal at home to Kiev. They're not playing too well. A fair amount of hoofing. Their passing game is a little sedate and predictable.
 

fletcherpost

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fletcherpost said:
Everton down a goal at home to Kiev. They're not playing too well. A fair amount of hoofing. Their passing game is a little sedate and predictable.
 
Edit: Tony's post gave me a semi.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Titans Bastard said:
Zenit 2-0 Torino
Dnipro 1-0 Ajax
Wolfsburg 3-1 Inter
Brugge 2-1 Besiktas
 
What can be said?  The home teams took care of business, but all four losers still have a fighting chance at home.  Big win for Wolfsburg.  If they can make a deep run in the Europa and things break right in the Champions League, Germany could overtake England in the coefficient rankings.
 
That seems quite likely, if not this year then next.
 
The bigger story might be whether England maintains its lead over Italy in the next 2-3 years.  If Italy sends multiple teams deep into the Europe League this year and Juventus advances and accumulates a few more points in the Champions League, they are going to run up the score on England for 14-15 pretty good.  And then over the next two years nearly 11 points of England's current 14.3 point cushion (amassed during 10-11 and 11-12) will fall out of the rankings.  Things could get very close and the race for top four in the EPL could turn into the race for top three, at least for a season or two.
 

Titans Bastard

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Morgan's Magic Snowplow said:
 
That seems quite likely, if not this year then next.
 
The bigger story might be whether England maintains its lead over Italy in the next 2-3 years.  If Italy sends multiple teams deep into the Europe League this year and Juventus advances and accumulates a few more points in the Champions League, they are going to run up the score on England for 14-15 pretty good.  And then over the next two years nearly 11 points of England's current 14.3 point cushion (amassed during 10-11 and 11-12) will fall out of the rankings.  Things could get very close and the race for top four in the EPL could turn into the race for top three, at least for a season or two.
 
I think Serie A overtaking the EPL is a bit farfetched.  You have to assume that, over the next two years, English clubs are going to fare as poorly as they have this season and that Italian clubs will continue to do really well in the Europa.  I'm not deeply in tune with the latest feelings in Italy, but have Serie A clubs suddenly decided to take the Europa seriously?  Because historically they really haven't and they've done quite poorly in that competition as a result, which is why they lag so far behind Spain, England, and Germany in the rankings right now.
 
I mean, I understand the math that you're looking at, but I have a hard time imagining Italy outperforming England for three consecutive seasons.
 

Morgan's Magic Snowplow

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Titans Bastard said:
 
I think Serie A overtaking the EPL is a bit farfetched.  You have to assume that, over the next two years, English clubs are going to fare as poorly as they have this season and that Italian clubs will continue to do really well in the Europa.  I'm not deeply in tune with the latest feelings in Italy, but have Serie A clubs suddenly decided to take the Europa seriously?  Because historically they really haven't and they've done quite poorly in that competition as a result, which is why they lag so far behind Spain, England, and Germany in the rankings right now.
 
I mean, I understand the math that you're looking at, but I have a hard time imagining Italy outperforming England for three consecutive seasons.
 
I don't think its likely to happen.  But if Italy runs up the score enough this year, they won't have to outperform England for three consecutive years.  It's definitely plausible that they score enough this year to have a small overall lead in the 2012-2015 three year window.  Then they would just need to tie or narrowly trail England over the next two years.
 
All that said, today's results have been pretty bad so far for Italy.  Torino and Inter face huge climbs in the second legs of those ties and Roma losing in the All-Italy match is bad overall since they're probably Italy's best bet to really put some big points by going deep into the tournament.
 

fletcherpost

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1-1 at Goodison after Naismith equalized. Now they've got Kone on, they're giving it a good go but sort of lack some finesse. I'd like to see Lukaku get more involved. His link up play hasn't been great.
 
Everton win 2-1. Lukaku scores with a pen down the middle. Keeper almost got a toe to it. There's something uncomfortable about watching Everton. It's hard to quite put one's finger on it. I don't like seeing players like Barkley have quiet games and under perform.  Barry made a lot of schoolboy mistakes too.
 

mgoblue2

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Barry has been woeful most of the season. The fans got on Barkley over the festive period and he hasn't looked the same since. Even when playing well this team doesn't feel the same as last year, though Lukaku has already matched last year's scoring and is somehow already Everton's top European goalscorer. I find it odd that some Everton fans can give him stick when he's the best striker Everton's had since Andy Johnson, if not Duncan Ferguson. And if he keeps scoring, the club will make a lot of money off of him.
 

OCST

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fletcherpost said:
1-1 at Goodison after Naismith equalized. Now they've got Kone on, they're giving it a good go but sort of lack some finesse. I'd like to see Lukaku get more involved. His link up play hasn't been great.
 
Everton win 2-1. Lukaku scores with a pen down the middle. Keeper almost got a toe to it. There's something uncomfortable about watching Everton. It's hard to quite put one's finger on it. I don't like seeing players like Barkley have quiet games and under perform.  Barry made a lot of schoolboy mistakes too.
 
Agreed.  Other than a nice goal off a set piece, Kiev were awful, especially defensively.  A team with a well-functioning attack probably could have had 5+ goals off of them.  As it is, Everton could easily have had a couple more, but as they have done all season, they failed to move the ball well in front of goal.
 
They are like a mobile with a cut string right now.  As much as I like Martinez, you have to wonder WTF is going on.  Everton should be better than they are.
 

OCST

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Wild one in Kiev.  Dynamo score at 21', Lukaku at 29', and Everton threatening for more, but Dynamo score on the counter at 34'.  2-1 Dynamo, 3-3 on agg.
 

Titans Bastard

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It's 5-2 in Kyiv now, late in the game.  It looks like the end of the line for England this season, all before the quarterfinals of both the CL and EL.
 

Titans Bastard

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Roma lost 3-0 to Fiorentina at the Olimpico and apparently it's getting ugly between Roma fans and the players.  See this Twitter feed.
 
https://twitter.com/footballitalia/status/578641259813855232
 
https://twitter.com/footballitalia/status/578642728629710848
 

Titans Bastard

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Caligiuri scores.  It's the Shot Heard Round...Wolfsburg.  The Germans are now up 4-1 on aggregate over Inter.  If Wolfsburg can make a deep run in the Europa and Bayern do well in the CL, the Bundesliga has a shot at dislodging the EPL at #2 in the coefficients this year.
 

SoxFanInCali

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Titans Bastard said:
Roma lost 3-0 to Fiorentina at the Olimpico and apparently it's getting ugly between Roma fans and the players.  See this Twitter feed.
 
I'm going to be in Rome in a couple of weeks, the day Roma is playing at home to Napoli.
 
I think I'll stay clear of the stadium that day.
 

Schnerres

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Titans Bastard said:
Caligiuri scores.  It's the Shot Heard Round...Wolfsburg.  The Germans are now up 4-1 on aggregate over Inter.  If Wolfsburg can make a deep run in the Europa and Bayern do well in the CL, the Bundesliga has a shot at dislodging the EPL at #2 in the coefficients this year.
It was a verrrry lucky bounce, after a poor finish from Caligiuri and another (40th scorer point in all matches this season!) assist from De Bruyne.
 

Titans Bastard

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Schnerres said:
It was a verrrry lucky bounce, after a poor finish from Caligiuri and another (40th scorer point in all matches this season!) assist from De Bruyne.
 
It was an ugly finish, I was just making reference to US Soccer's "Shot Heard Round the World".
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7F30sDMGJM
 

Titans Bastard

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QF draw:
 
Sevilla vs. Zenit St. Petersburg
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk vs. Club Brugge
Dynamo Kyiv vs. Fiorentina
Wolfsburg vs. Napoli
 
 
Russian and Ukrainian clubs were kept apart again.  I'm sure UEFA would love to see either Zenit or both Ukrainian clubs lose at this point.
 
Great draw for Dnipro and Brugge.
 

Schnerres

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The quarters just kicked off.
Napoli staying home (what you would expect from a Benitez team), Wolfsburg dominating possession in first 5 minutes, no real goalscoring chance so far. A 25m-freekick from Ricardo Rodriguez that missed by 5meters.
 

PedroSpecialK

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...not a good showing for Wolfsburg
 
First two goals for Napoli were borderline offside, both played (questionably) on by Knoche not adapting to the situation. Dost subbed off at 57' after being ineffective.
 
Gonna be a very daunting second leg, need to win by 4  :fonz:
 

Dummy Hoy

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I'm a De Bruyne fan boy, so I've been keeping tabs on Wolfsburg. I thought they had a legit shot to win this tourney. Not looking too good right now. Ugh.
 

soxfan121

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Napoli really hit back, hard, after the initial wave of Wolfsburg energy crested about 15 minutes in. Hamsik was fun to watch and Higuain is a heck of a player.
 

Schnerres

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Obviously Wolfsburg had a lot of trouble at the back. Knoche and Naldo couldn´t hold it up and they made a lot of mistakes, which led to many clear scoring chances for Napoli.
The first was borderline, I don´t think it was offside, but I think after Rodriguez pushed Higuain in the back (you could even call a foul there), he brought the ball down with his arm.
The third was an even bigger mistake in the buildup, similar to what Bayern did...
Napoli has great scoring creators in Hamsik, Higuain. I wouldn´t even say Higuain is a great finisher, as he missed a few clear chances (and i will always love him for missing a big chance in last years WC final and scoring the chance where he was called offside). The guy has a nose for chances. With Napoli´s solid defense and Benitez favoring such tactics, they should be through.
Fiorentina scored in additional time to make it 1-1 away, so there´s a big chance we see two italian teams in the semis...
 

Titans Bastard

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Napoli, Fiorentina, Sevilla, and Dnipro on to the semifinals.  UEFA will be relieved that the results of the quarterfinals removed the possibility of a Russian and Ukrainian club being drawn together at some point.
 

Dummy Hoy

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Zenit dominated that second half, but one great counter and Sevilla moves on. I'm a bit surprised Zenit isn't more successful.
 

soxfan121

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Titans Bastard said:
Napoli, Fiorentina, Sevilla, and Dnipro on to the semifinals.  UEFA will be relieved that the results of the quarterfinals removed the possibility of a Russian and Ukrainian club being drawn together at some point.
 
Yes, but those of us hoping for a literal war on the pitch are disappointed. A Russian club v. Ukranian club would make La Firmo Viejo clashes look like a friendly. 
 

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Titans Bastard said:
The end of this game likely sets off the start of the manager merry-go-round.  A chance that things wait on Serie A wrapping up, but probably not. Unai Emery is the last  name manager likely to leave his club, but he supposedly won't talk to new clubs until after this game and several clubs are waiting on him to see how things shake out before making their hires.
 

Titans Bastard

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1-0 Dnipro, from a header by ex-Blackburn forward Nikola Kalinic.
 

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2-2 at the half. Sevilla with 66% possession and outshooting Dnipro 11-4.
However only 3 shots on goal each and 2 in the net each.
 

soxfan121

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Uh, did someone just die on the pitch? Away from play, waiting for a sub, a Dnipro player just collapsed and there has been a ton of medical guys on the field and a stretcher. 
 
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