2024-05-02 02:24:27
A Europa League quarter-final draw with 15 European Cups in the pot. The second European competition held the draw for its qualifying rounds with an inevitable flavor of the Champions League. Great somethings that had fallen into disrepair, teams that were clearly growing, whatever the case, it was ‘impossible’ to avoid a bogeyman.
Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen couldn’t either, of course. After an epic comeback against Azeri Qarabag, the German team will have to face West Ham United, the current winners of the Conference League.
Liverpool were the other big favorite in this pot. The six-time European champion and three-time champion of this competition is one of the great candidates to win the Europa League, although it will have to overcome Atalanta, who will visit Anfield in the first leg, if it wants to repeat the title in this tie.
The order of the semi-finals prevented the Reds and one of the candidates to sit on the local Anfield bench once Klopp leaves, the aforementioned Xabi Alonso, from being able to cross paths until a hypothetical final.
Serie A, after seeing Atlético beat Inter Milan and Barcelona beat Naples, received more bad news. Milan will have to face Roma, experiencing an Italian derby in the quarterfinals.
The ‘Bel Paese’ will see how, yes or yes, they lose an option to see one of their teams lift the title in a year in which it is very important that they get through as much as possible since fifth place in the Champions League is at stake. The partial this season is very encouraging for the interests of those from San Siro, since in the two league matches, the Romanistas have fallen to the Lombards by 1-2 and 3-1.
Benfica, a three-time finalist in this tournament, will host Olympique de Marseille in Lisbon, who managed to ‘survive’ a very complicated second leg against Villarreal. After this matchup, UEFA defined the semi-final draw and the venues for the final.
The winning team of Benfica and Marseille will play the first leg of the semi-finals at home against the winner of Liverpool-Atalanta. In the second semi-final, the winner of Milan-Roma will play at home against the winner between Bayer Leverkusen-West Ham United.
Under the supervision of Giorgio Marchetti, UEFA director, the Spanish Fernando Llorente, champion with Sevilla of this competition, was the innocent hand that drew the balls from the last draw before the final in Dublin, which will crown the champion of the Europa League .
CRUCES EUROPA LEAGUE
The Europa League Quarterfinals have been defined.
Milan-Rome
Liverpool-Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen-West Ham
Benfica-Olympique Marseille
In the semifinals, the winner of Liverpool vs Atalanta will go against the winner of Benfica-Olympique de Marseille and the other will be the meeting of the winners of Bayer Leverkusen-West Ham and Milan-Roma.