BEVERLY HILLS, April 16, (THEWILL) –Â The teams for the semi-final stage of the UEFA Europa League were finalised on Thursday night after the conclusion of the second legs of the quarter-final fixture across Europe. There were no major upsets although one overwhelming result came from the Slavia Prague versus Arsenal tie at the Sinobo Stadium, Praha, in the Czech Republic.
After the first leg ended 1-1, it was thought that Arsenal had been forced into a corner from which they looked incapable of escaping for different reasons but the most pointed to was that the return leg was bound to be an incredibly tough fixture for Arsenal with the Czech side unbeaten in 31 home matches. The odds seemed stacked high against Mikel Arteta’s side.
However, it turned out to be an Arsenal romp. Young Englishman, Emile Smith Rowe, who was one of the shining stars of the night, had a goal ruled out for offside before setting up Nicolas Pepe to open the floodgates for Arsenal. Centre forward and in-form striker, Alexandre Lacazette, tucked away a penalty after Bukayo Saka had been fouled, with Saka firing in the third.
Lacazette put the gloss on a professional performance with a well-taken fourth as the Gunners cruised into the last four, where they will face former boss Unai Emery’s Villarreal at the semi-final.
It was an expected set of results in the other games. Roma edged out Ajax with a 1-1 home draw that gave them an aggregate advantage of 3-2. Throughout the match, Paolo Fonseca’s charges dug in to protect their first-leg advantage, while Ajax dominated a tense first-half. However, lacking in creativity, the Dutch side failed to trouble the tightly guarded Roma net.
Half-time substitute Brian Brobbey’s deft touch over Pau Lopez, from a classy Perr Schuurs ball, put Ajax in front and brought the match to life. Roma faced the real prospect of being knocked out as Ajax held steady. However, against the run of play, Riccardo Calafiori’s deflected cross fell kindly for Edin Dzeko, who pounced to secure Roma’s place in the semis.
In their Estadio de la Ceramica stadium in Villarreal, Nigeria’s Samuel Chukwueze put on a man of the match performance to lead his La Liga side across the line to the semi-finals. Although he was not on the scoresheet, which he could easily have been but for the woodwork, he was the best player in the match overall.
After having the better of the opening exchanges, including Chukwueze’s close-range strike that rebounded off the post, Villarreal opened the scoring through Paco Alcacer’s tap-in before Gerard Moreno curled in a second. But, Mislav Orsic completed a fine team move to give Dinamo hope. Chukwueze rattled the woodwork again but no other goals came, leaving the hosts 3-1 aggregate winners.
In the last match at Old Trafford, Manchester United went in as favourites given their two-goal advantage from the first leg away at Granada and looked every inch prepared to pile on the misery for the Spaniards.
Granada could do nothing about how they went behind in the sixth minute after Paul Pogba guided his header down for Edinson Cavani to thrash across Rui Silva. Although Diego Martinez’s men responded well, the result could have been different if Yangel Herrera converted either or both of his headers in the first period.
When Angel Montoro failed to convert his own header, it was clear that it just was not their day, as the visitors continued to pass up opportunities to get themselves back into the tie. United punished them for that late on as Jesus Vallejo inadvertently nodded Alex Telles’ cross past his own goalkeeper to end an unfortunate day of headers for Granada.
The semi-final pairings from these quarter-final results will have United face Roma and Arsenal take on the present club of their immediate past coach Unai Emery’s Villarreal. The profiles of these last four sides make for an interesting pair of matches to look forward to for the Europa prize.
Man U will be seeking to improve on last season’s semi-final defeat to Sevilla and go all the way to the trophy this time around. Their wastefulness in front of goal was their downfall in the 2019/2020 campaign and it is an area they have improved upon in the EPL and UEL, which will count in their determination to correct the errors of last season.
With nearly 40 goals or assists in all competitions this season, Bruno Fernandes remains the beating heart of this Red Devils team and as their talisman, he will have a significant say in how the home and away ties pan out.
Standing in their way to the final is Roma. The Italian side battled their way past Dutch opposition in the leading Eredivisie club Ajax to their slot in the semis through the advantage of their perfect mix of qualities. They have demonstrated the determined ability to overcome tough obstacles in Europe and can battle United match for match.
The kingpin of the Roma side is Jordan Veretout, the midfield controller. As a complete box-to-box midfielder, the Frenchman mops up at the back and gets in on the action further forward too. That is why, even from the middle of the park, he is the highest Roma goalscorer with 10 so far.
In the other pairing, there is an interesting tidbit. Villarreal’s coach, Unai Emery, is a Europa specialist, having won this competition three times consecutively and is now coaching a club who are in their fourth semi-final. They are counting on his expertise in the competition and his previous time at Arsenal to give them the edge to win and secure the elusive UEFA Champions League qualification.
They can also count on Spanish international Gerard Moreno to give Arsenal plenty of trouble in defense and the benefits of his eye for goal makes him a player everyone should be wary of, including the inconsistent defensive framework of the Gunners.
For Arteta’s charges, success in Europe can be the tonic to drown away the gloom of an EPL campaign that has been seriously underwhelming even by their own standards. They certainly still have their deficiencies, but a free-flowing, attacking style means they always look to have goals in them just as Slavia Prague found out.
With Frenchman Alexandre Lacazette in a fine vein of form in front of goal recently, he could be the one to determine the fate of the Gunners’ European adventure this season. Apart from goals, the stamina of the striker provides an invaluable all-round contribution for Arsenal and can give them the edge to cruise past their former boss.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
