EUROPA League
ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE RULES EUROPE!
What England missed by not winning the World Cup last year will be compensated for in 2019.
A day after Tottenham set up an all-English Champions League final against Liverpool, Arsenal overcame Valencia in Spain, while Chelsea held its nerve to defeat Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 on penalties.
It is the first time
one country has provided all four finalists for both the Champions League and
Europa League. The closest that this
had happened before was the six times that a country produced three of the four
finalists. The most recent was in 2016 when the trio of Spanish La Liga sides, Real
Madrid, Atlético Madrid (Champions League final) and Servilla (Europa Cup) got to the final. The latter
beat English Premiership side, Liverpool to win the Europa Cup.
Prior to that were that of 1980 when trio of German sides, Hamburg, Eintracht and Mönchengladbach were three finalist while England first division side (No Premiership then), Nottingham Forest won the European Cup of Champions Clubs. Italy in 1990 had AC Milan, Juventus and Fiorentina in the finals while Portugal’s Benfica was the fourth club.
In 1995 Italy also had three clubs in the finals{ AC Milan, Parma and Juventus just as they did in 19998 with Juventus, Internazionale and Lazio. In 2014, Spain’s dominance of the European clubs’ competitions manifested with the trio of Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla in the finals.
The exception could be in 1990 when UEFA had three clubs’ competition as against the current two – the European Cup Winners Cup, European Cup and UEFA Cup. Italy had four clubs in the three finals and the three trophies all ended in Italy.
That is in the ancient past. Currently, it is the English Premier League, the most followed national league that is reigning.
And so, the English Premiership will not only produce this year’s UEFA Champions League and Europa League winners, the Super Cup which pitches the winners of both leagues in one contest is destined to be won by any of the quartet of the English Premiership clubs.
While Arsenal’s route to the final was rather more sedate, Chelsea’s was anything but after it was taken all the way to penalties by an exciting and adventurous Eintracht Frankfurt.
With the tie level at 1-1 after the first leg, it was Chelsea that struck first at Stamford Bridge through Ruben Loftus-Cheek after 28 minutes.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek gave his side the lead at Stamford Bridge.
The visiting side hit back four minutes after the interval through Luka Jovic, one of the most sought after strikers in Europe, with the forward racing through to slot the ball past the stranded Kepa Arrizabalaga in the Chelsea goal.
Both teams had chances to win the tie in the additional 30 minutes of extra time but David Luiz’s spectacular block on the line denied Sebastien Haller, while Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta’s effort was ruled out for a foul on the Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper.
With the scores level at 1-1 on the night and 2-2 on aggregate, it was left to penalties to separate the side with Kepa the hero for Chelsea.
The Spaniard saved two spot kicks, allowing Eden Hazard to fire home the winner and send Chelsea into the final.
For Kepa, who was caught up in controversy after refusing to be substituted during Chelsea’s shootout defeat by Manchester City in the League Cup final earlier this year, it was a moment of redemption.
“Penalties are down to luck. Today we won and in the Carabao Cup final we lost, but this is football,” Kepa told BT Sport.
“Today was really good and we played against a very difficult team and we are very happy.
“Our season was a little bit difficult but we have reached two finals and we have qualified for the Champions League so I think it’s a good season. Now we will have a strong London derby with Arsenal in Baku.”
While Chelsea was made to sweat, Arsenal enjoyed a more comfortable evening as it eased past Spanish side Valencia.
Leading 3-1 from the first leg, Arsenal came from behind to win 4-2 on the night and 7-3 on aggregate.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a hat-trick and Alexandre Lacazette was also on target as Arsenal became the third English club to reach a European final in as many days.
The victory was particularly sweet for Arsenal head coach Unai Emery, formerly of Valencia, who is attempting to win the competition for a fourth time.
After a difficult opening 15 minutes in which Valencia took the lead through Kevin Gameiro, Arsenal grew into the contest and hit back through Aubameyang’s exquisite finish.
That goal appeared to knock the home side’s confidence and when Lacazette added Arsenal’s second five minutes after the interval.
But Valencia rallied and Gameiro leveled just eight minutes later to set up a tense final half hour.
Yet, any hopes the home side may have had of a comeback were quickly curtailed when Aubameyang grabbed his second and Arsenal’s third with a neat finish
The Gabon international then completed his treble with just two minutes remaining to send Arsenal into the final on May 29.
Emery, who won the trophy three times in succession with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016, will now hope his side can overcome Chelsea in the final.
“I am very proud of the players and the supporters,” Emery told BT Sport after the game.
“The players did all they could and we can be proud of the whole club.
“We knew we had to be calm after they scored and we needed to control our emotions. It is very difficult to score four goals against this team because they are very organized. It gave us confidence to score quickly we know our strikers are taking chances.”
FOUR FINALISTS IN ONE SEASON
- European Cup: AC Milan 1-0 Benfica
- UEFA Cup: Juventus 3-1agg Fiorentina
- Cup Winners’ Cup: Sampdoria 2-0 Anderlecht, aet
THREE FINALISTS IN ONE SEASON*
- 1980 GER – Nottingham Forest 1-0 Hamburg, Eintracht 3-3agg Mönchengladbach (Eintracht won on away goals)
- 1990 ITA – AC Milan 1-0 Benfica, Juventus 3-1agg Fiorentina
- 1995 ITA – Ajax 1-0 AC Milan, Parma 2-1agg Juventus
- 1998 ITA – Real Madrid 1-0 Juventus, Internazionale 3-0 Lazio
- 2014 ESP – Real Madrid 4-1 Atlético Madrid (aet), Sevilla 0-0 Benfica (4-2 on pens)
- 2016 ESP – Real Madrid 1-1 Atlético Madrid (Real Madrid won 5-3 on pens), Sevilla 3-1 Liverpool
ONE-NATION EUROPEAN CUP/UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINALS
This season will be the seventh UEFA Champions League final between domestic rivals in 20 seasons:
- 2000 ESP Real Madrid 3-0 Valencia
- 2003 ITA AC Milan 0-0 Juventus (3-2 on pen)
- 2008 ENG Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea (6-5 on pens)
- 2013 GER Bayern München 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
- 2014 ESP Real Madrid 4-1 Atlético Madrid (aet)
- 2016 ESP Real Madrid 1-1 Atlético Madrid (5-3 on pens)
- 2019 ENG Tottenham v Liverpool
ONE-NATION UEFA CUP/UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE FINALS
This season’s final in Baku is the first all-English decider since the competition’s very first season in 1971/72, when Tottenham got the better of Wolves. It is the tenth one-nation final in all.
- 1972 ENG Tottenham 3-2agg Wolverhampton
- 1980 GER Eintracht 3-3agg Mönchengladbach (Eintracht won on away goals)
- 1990 ITA Juventus 3-1agg Fiorentina
- 1991 ITA Internazionale 2-1agg Roma
- 1995 ITA Parma 2-1agg Juventus
- 1998 ITA Internazionale 3-0 Lazio
- 2007 ESP Sevilla 2-2 Espanyol (3-1 on pens)
- 2011 POR Porto 1-0 Braga
- 2012 ESP Atlético Madrid 3-0 Athletic Club
- 2019 ENG Chelsea v Arsenal
TWO WINNERS IN ONE SEASON*
With a monopoly on finalists, both trophies are obviously destined for England. It is the 12th time one nation has won both competitions – and remarkably, the fifth time in six seasons!
- 1975 GER Bayern München, Mönchengladbach
- 1981 ENG Liverpool, Tottenham
- 1989 ITA AC Milan, Napoli
- 1990 ITA AC Milan, Juventus (Sampdoria won the Cup Winners’ Cup, too)
- 1994 ITA AC Milan, Internazionale
- 1997 GER Dortmund, Schalke
- 2006 ESP Barcelona, Sevilla
- 2014 ESP Real Madrid, Sevilla
- 2015 ESP Barcelona, Sevilla
- 2016 ESP Real Madrid, Sevilla
- 2018 ESP Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid
- 2019 ENG ???
EUROPA League
UEFA await Lyon relegation appeal before Palace Europa League decision

UEFA has decided to postpone its assessment of the multi-club ownership case involving Olympique Lyonnais and Crystal Palace until the French club’s relegation has been confirmed, European football’s governing body said on Monday.
The multi-club ownership regulations do not allow clubs under the same ownership compete in the same European competition, and American businessman John Textor holds a stake in both Palace and Lyon.
Palace qualified for the Europa League by winning the FA Cup last season while Lyon reached the competition by finishing sixth in Ligue 1 but have since been relegated to Ligue 2 by French football’s financial watchdog (DNCG).
Lyon are appealing the decision, which came following an audit of the club’s finances, and UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body will now await the outcome of the appeal before making its decision.
UEFA and Lyon reached a settlement agreement over the club’s breach of the financial sustainability requirements, and as part of the settlement, Lyon agreed to their exclusion from European competition should the DNCG confirm their relegation.
League of Ireland club Drogheda United lost an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport earlier this month over their exclusion from the Conference League, after falling foul of the multi-club ownership rules.
-Reuters
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EUROPA League
Tottenham sack Postecoglou, two weeks after Europa League glory

Tottenham Hotspur have sacked manager Ange Postecoglou, the club said on Friday, little more than two weeks after the Australian guided the London club to a first major trophy in 17 years with victory in the Europa League final.
While Postecoglou’s fate has split opinion amongst the fans, the 59-year-old ultimately paid the price for an horrendous Premier League season which saw Tottenham finish 17th.
“The Board has unanimously concluded that it is in the best interests of the Club for a change to take place,” Tottenham said in a statement.
“Following a positive start in the 2023/24 Premier League (PL) season, we recorded 78 points from the last 66 PL games. This culminated in our worst-ever PL finish last season.”
Postecoglou leaves two years to the day after his appointment and 16 days after his side beat Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao for the club’s first silverware since 2008, a win that also put them in next season’s Champions League.
The former Celtic manager has had to face questions over his future for several months, yet delivered on his claim early last season that he always wins a trophy in his second season in a job
He also took Tottenham to the League Cup semi-final but their league campaign was their worst since 1976-77, the last time the club suffered relegation from the top flight.
Several of the club’s first team have voiced their support for Postecoglou since beating United, but chairman Daniel Levy is now searching for his fifth full-time manager in six years since Mauricio Pochettino was sacked in 2019.
“At times there were extenuating circumstances — injuries and then a decision to prioritise our European campaign,” the club said. “Whilst winning the Europa League this season ranks as one of the Club’s greatest moments, we cannot base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph.”
Several managers have been linked to the Tottenham job, including Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Crystal Palace’s Oliver Glasner.
GOOD START
Postecoglou will walk away with his pride intact and a handsome bonus, but his recent comment to fans at the Europa League victory parade that the third season of a TV series is always better than the second now looks hollow.
It all started so well for Postecoglou. He began the 2023-24 campaign by guiding Tottenham to their best start to a top-flight season since the 1961 title-winning team.
That form soon dipped though and despite finishing fifth in his first campaign the momentum had long since gone.
This season Tottenham earned only 38 points and lost 22 top-flight matches. They managed five points from their last 12 league games and the only win they earned during that run was against a Southampton side who narrowly avoided becoming statistically the worst team ever in the Premier League.
Postecoglou has pointed to a long injury list which denied him the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Dejan Kulusevski, Destiny Udogie, Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Son Heung-min for significant periods.
But while it has clearly been one of long-serving chairman Levy’s toughest calls, he has concluded that Postecoglou is not the man to lead the club forward.
“We have made what we believe is the right decision to give us the best chance of success going forward, not the easy decision,” the club statement said.
“We have a talented, young squad and Ange has given us a great platform to build upon. We should like to express our gratitude to him. We wish him well for the future — he will always be welcome back at our home.”
Many fans reacted to the news of Postecoglou’s sacking with surprise, but England manager Thomas Tuchel said that sometimes even winning a trophy is not enough.
“I feel for every manager and I have huge sympathy for every manager in these moments because I was in the same spot,” the German, who was sacked by Chelsea despite taking them to the Champions League title, said on Friday.
“If the trust is not there anymore then sometimes it’s not enough to win a trophy.”
-Reuters
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EUROPA League
UEFA apologises after running out of medals during Europa League final ceremony

UEFA apologised for running out of winners’ medals during the Europa League final trophy ceremony on Wednesday after more Tottenham Hotspur players lined up to receive their prizes.
Spurs captain Son Heung-min and two other players, the last to line up for individual medals, were left empty-handed after their team beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the club’s fourth European title on Wednesday.
Son lifted the trophy without a medal around his neck.
“To our great displeasure, we did not have enough medals available on stage during the trophy ceremony presentation due to an unexpected discrepancy in the player count …” British media quoted European soccer’s governing body as saying on Thursday.
“More team members – including injured players – participated in the ceremony than initially anticipated.
“The missing medals were promptly delivered to the winning team in the dressing room, along with our sincerest apologies for the oversight.”
-Reuters
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