Analysing UEFA Quarter-Finals Performances of EPL Teams
Three Premier League teams were in action last night in the UEFA competitions, with the Europa League featuring Liverpool away to Atalanta and West Ham at home against Bayer Leverkusen, while Aston Villa played Lille in France in the Europa Conference League.
Here is how those games shaped up:
- Atalanta 0 – 1 Liverpool
- West Ham 1 – 1 Bayer Leverkusen
- Lille 2 – 1 Aston Villa, with the English team advancing after a penalty shoot-out
So what are the biggest 5 lessons from these performances?
Aston Villa Fly the Flag for England
Now the only remaining English team in UEFA competitions, Villa will come up against Greek opposition, in the form of Olympiacos Piraeus, in the UECL semi-finals.
While we realise that his specialty might be the Europa League, we are certain that Unai Emery will be confident about his team’s chances of winning the somewhat new Europa Conference League.
https://twitter.com/Squawka/status/1781067931834814575
And we’re here for it.
Klopp Misses Out on the Europa League Again
Oh, Jürgen. Set to leave Liverpool still without a UEL trophy, despite two bites at the cherry.
Despite being in his debut season as Reds’ manager, he took his team all the way to the final in 2016, only to lose to perennial Europa League winners Sevilla in Basel.
This time, Liverpool made it only to the quarter-finals under the guidance of the charismatic German, and the writing was on the wall as soon as that third Atalanta goal went in at Anfield last week.
It remains the only competition that Liverpool have entered but failed to win during Klopp’s reign.
West Ham Capitulate Against the German Champions
As was expected after the first leg, due to Leverkusen’s 2-0 home victory last week, West Ham also bowed out of the Europa League.
What surprised us though was the fact that the Germans remain unbeaten this season, overcoming both an early goal from Michail Antonio, and the likely mass hangover after they sealed the Bundesliga title last Sunday.
Martinez Antics Bring Up Interesting Information
While the Villa keeper is no stranger to controversial behaviour on big stages (remember Qatar?), we did not really expect his penchant for trouble to become a lesson for many football fans.
After being booked for time wasting in the 39th minute, the Argentinian was shown a second yellow card during the penalty shootout. At this point probably many were wondering which outfield Villa player will have to face the remaining penalties.
However, as it turns out, he was allowed to remain on the field due to a little-known piece of regulation. IFAB law 10 (determining the outcome of a match), states that: “Warnings and cautions (YCs) issued during the match (including during extra time) are not carried forward into kicks from the penalty mark (KFPM).”
Naturally, he proceeded to save Lille’s fifth penalty (in addition to the first) to ensure Villa’s progression to the semi-finals.
Like him or not, Emi Martinez seems to have studied the rulebook in-depth.