EUROPA League
BAYERN MUNICH WIN UEFA SUPER CUP
Bayern Munich finally crushed the spirit of Sevilla to win the UEFA Super Cup final 2-1.
But as the relentless red machine added another trophy to the Champions League it won last month and extended its run of straight wins to 23 games, it was tested to the limit by the Europe League holders
Spanish substitute Javi Martinez got the winner for Bayern, heading past Bono after the Sevilla keeper had parried a David Alaba shot straight to him. There were 104 draining minutes on the clock when Bayern finally got themselves in front.
Alaba had conceded a first half penalty from which Lucas Ocampos gave Sevilla the lead. Leon Goretzka had levelled on 34 minutes before Bayern got their extra-time winner.
The game was played in front of 15,500 spectators in the 67,000-capacity Puskas Arena, with around 500 travelling from Spain and 1,000 from Germany.
Sevilla took the lead on 12 minutes when Lucas Ocampos sent Manuel Neuer the wrong way from the penalty spot.
Ivan Rakitic, making the second Sevilla debut of his career, won the spot kick.
Jesus Navas had overlapped Suso down the right but checked back on to his left foot before crossing for Luuk de Jong. The big target man headed the ball down to Rakitic who took it on his chest but was barged sideways by David Alaba. English referee Anthony Taylor booked the Austrian and Ocampos rolled in the kick.
Nervous minutes followed for the Spanish. Keeper Bono slipped as he tried to clear and Fernando had to clean things up in a hurry.
Then Rakitic went in late on Robert Lewandowski but De Jong made sure Niklas Sule’s header went out for a corner.
Manchester City target Jules Kounde added a few more euros to his value with a goalsaving block that prevented Thomas Muller scoring.
Bayern were swarming forward and when Benjamin Pavard and Serge Gnabry doubled up down the right with no Sevilla defender in attendance Pavard had a free shot that he pulled wide.
Sane was next to shoot and this time it was Diego Carlos who blocked. Bono then saved at close-range from Lewandowski.
On 34 minutes finally Bayern’s pressure finally paid off. Muller found Lewandowski who laid off to Goretzka who sidefooted the ball past Bono.
Sevilla stayed on terms until half time and refreshed at the restart Ocampos’ flick allowed Sergio Escudero to cross and De Jong’s shot forced a corner.
Lucas Hernandez then teed-up Sane who crossed to Lewandowski. The Pole nodded to Muller who gave it back to him on the edge of the six-yard box. He scored and Bayern celebrated but VAR ruled that Lewandowski had been just offside.
Sane then had the ball in the net but the goal was harshly ruled out for a foul from Lewandowski on Escudero in the build-up. Sevilla’s cup luck was still in.
By now a tired Rakitic had made way for Oliver Torres in a break in play brought about by Kounde’s impeccable block on Lewandowski. The Bayern forward needed treatment but there had been no foul.
The next time Kounde took a risk, this time on Muller, the foul was given but Alaba curled the kick over. Bono then got down well to his right to save from Muller, unsighted he did well to hold the shot.
With three minutes left Sevilla almost nicked it on the break when Navas played substitute Youssef En-Nesyri in. He was through for glory and he did nothing wrong but Neuer did what Neuer does getting down to his right to push the shot clear and force extra time.
En-Nesyri had the first chance of extra time, which this time Neuer blocked on to his post. VAR would have been required if the ball had gone in because the striker looked offside.
Bayern brought on Alphonso Davies, the injection of pace looked cruel on Sevilla’s exhausted players. But it was another sub who won it.
The Spanish side were tired mentally as well as physically. Diego Carlos cleared for a corner when he had Bono behind him to gather. And from the kick Martinez scored to win the game and the Super Cup.
-Daily Mail
List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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Crystal Palace’s appeal against UEFA’s decision to drop them from the Europa League to the third-tier Conference League was dismissed by the Court of Arbitration for Sport on Monday.
UEFA demoted Palace while allowing Olympique Lyonnais to play in the Europa League as, at the time of assessment on March 1, the Eagle Football Group were majority owners of Lyon while their chairman, John Textor, owned a controlling stake in Palace.
Nottingham Forest, who finished seventh in the Premier League last season, will replace Palace in the Europa League.
“After considering the evidence, the panel found that John Textor, founder of Eagle Football Holdings, had shares in CPFC and OL and was a board member with decisive influence over both clubs at the time of UEFA’s assessment date,” the CAS said in a statement.
“The panel also dismissed the argument by CPFC that they received unfair treatment in comparison to Nottingham Forest and OL.”
Palace did not respond to a request for comment. Club chairman Steve Parish told reporters on Sunday that if Palace lost the appeal, they would “have to look if there’s any steps after that.”
The club, who qualified for the Europa League as FA Cup winners, appealed against UEFA’s decision last month.
The appeal came days before New York Jets co-owner Robert Wood “Woody” Johnson completed the purchase of Eagle Football Holdings’ stake in Palace.
Textor has also resigned from Lyon’s board of directors with Michele Kang appointed chairwoman and president.
As both Lyon and Palace had qualified for the Europa League, the French club were allowed to keep their place because they had finished higher in their respective league. Lyon finished sixth in Ligue 1 while Palace were 12th in the Premier League.
“Olympique Lyonnais welcomes today’s decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport confirming its participation in the Europa League,” Lyon said in a statement.
Palace, who won the Community Shield on Sunday , beating Liverpool in a penalty shootout, are set to play in the Conference League’s qualifying playoff round later this month.
-Reuters
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