Category Archives: Europa League

Tear gas, cages and midnight lock-ins: The reality of being an away fan in Europe

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“Penned in cages. Tear-gassed by police. Forced to queue for hours by heavy-handed stewards. Locked in stadiums until midnight and enduring transport chaos. This has been the reality of life for travelling supporters in European competition this season, with seemingly every fanbase having a horror story at their treatment by host clubs or local security forces. When set against a general backdrop of disorder across the continent — from fatal stabbings in France to games being played behind closed doors in Greece or called off altogether in Turkey — it appears that life for away fans in Europe is grimmer than ever. So, what is the reality? In the last week, The Athletic attended three games in two countries — Napoli vs Braga and Atletico Madrid vs Lazio in the Champions League, and Real Betis vs Rangers in the Europa League. This is what we discovered. …”
The Athletic

Eurowatch: Paulo Fonseca’s Lille rediscover their rhythm to end November on a high

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“Lille have regained their stride. Until Sunday night, November had been a frustrating month for Paulo Fonseca’s team. They had been held in Marseille, dropped points carelessly at home to Toulouse and, in between, failed to beat Slovan Bratislava in the Europa Conference League. But Lille ended the month well, proving too sophisticated for Lyon at the Groupama Stadium. They produced a stylish attacking performance to move up to fourth in Ligue 1 and the 2-0 win also offered a reminder of how watchable their head coach’s brand of football can be. …”
The Athletic

The cautious contenders: How Nice became the most effective team in Ligue 1

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“Every season, Ligue 1 has a surprise package. This season, it is Nice. A plucky underdog story? Not exactly. They are bankrolled by INEOS, British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s company, who took over in 2019, and are playing their 22nd consecutive Ligue 1 campaign. Nice have recorded top-half finishes for eight years in a row but never truly challenged for the title or had any European success. …”
The Athletic

England are real Euro 2024 contenders, a fact Southgate’s carping critics ignore – Jonathan Wilson

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“… Then suddenly something clicked, England started posting scores of 350+ as standard and began beating the best sides in the world. Just as the thought began to crystallise that in a World Cup on home soil they might not actually just be genuine contenders but perhaps even favourites, an astonishing generational talent became available to them in Jofra Archer. …”
Guardian

How Italy won Euro 1968: Catenaccio, a coin toss and a goal worthy of any final

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“This is the third in a series about the 16 triumphant teams in the European Championship, ahead of the 17th edition in Germany next year. So far, we’ve looked at the USSR in 1960 and Spain in 1964. This time, it’s the turn of Italy. The point of this series is to redress the balance — the history of the World Cup is incredibly storied and famous, while the history of the European Championship feels entirely unknown to many. And there’s no better example of that than Italy’s triumph in the European Championship of 1968, which seems entirely forgotten by almost everyone. …”
The Athletic

How Spain won Euro 1964: Unheralded manager, Franco’s approval and Luis Suarez

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“This is the second in a series about the 16 triumphant teams in the European Championship ahead of the 17th edition in Germany next year. Last time, the focus was the USSR in 1960. Four years on, Spain are victorious. The previous edition of the European Nations Cup featured the USSR receiving a bye at the quarter-final stage because General Franco was so afraid of them beating Spain on home soil that he ordered the Spanish side to withdraw. …”
The Athletic (Video)

Toulouse 3 Liverpool 2: VAR row, Endo and Tsimikas flop and Klopp’s plan falls apart

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“This was supposed to be the night that Liverpool secured their Europa League knockout qualification — instead, they delivered one of their worst recent displays under Jurgen Klopp to slump to a shock defeat, and one clouded by controversy. The visitors deservedly trailed at the interval through Aron Donnum’s 36th-minute goal and things did not improve after half-time. …”
The Athletic
BBC – Toulouse 3-2 Liverpool: Jurgen Klopp angered by ‘chaotic’ performance – and media conference (Video)
The Athletic: Liverpool’s away form is becoming a problem – so what’s going wrong? (Video)