SOCCER - EUROPA LEAGUE
2015/16
2nd Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg - West Ham (0) @ (1) Birkirkara FC - In stifling heat in Malta, West Ham won through to the 3rd qualifying round but needed penalties to see off the home side. West Ham carried a 1-0 1st leg lead into the tie but Birkirkara evened the scores with a 1st half goal from Fabrizio Miccoli. Neither team could find a winning goal in normal or extra-time and the game went to penalties where West Ham scored all of theirs to win the tie. West Ham played most of the game with 10 men after James Tomkins was sent off for jostling at a corner (10, 2 Discs, Premier - Daly/Kerr, PAL)
3rd Qualifying Round, 2nd Leg - West Ham (1) @ (2) Astra Giurgiu - West Ham's European adventure ended in Romania as they were knocked out 4-3 on aggregate. West Ham fielded a team of young players and fringe 1st team players but repsonded with a shock opening goal after 3 minutes from Manuel Lanzini, his 1st for the club on his competitive debut. But Astra responded with 2 goals in 3 minutes before half-time from Constantin Budescu to take the lead. Despite a strong showing in the 2nd half, West Ham couldn't find the equalising goal and Astra held on for the win. West Ham also featured Kevin Nolan, Diego Poyet, Elliot lee and Josh Cullen with competitive debuts from Doneil Henry and Kyle Knoyle (10, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Darke/Owen, PAL)
Last 16, 1st Leg - Manchester United (0) @ (2) Liverpool - The 2 giants of European Football history met in a European competition for the 1st time, and it was the Reds of Liverpool that took away a decisive lead in the tie. Liverpool dominated the game and used a goal in each half to give themselves a great chance of making the next round. The goals came from Daniel Sturridge (Penalty) and Robert Firmino. Liverpool out-shot United (13 shots to 5) and had more on target (8 to 1) (10, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Fletcher/Owen/Francis, PAL)
Last 16, 2nd Leg - Liverpool (1) @ (1) Manchester United - Liverpool survived an upset bid from Manchester United and booked their place in the next round. United rode the momentum of the crowd to a 1-0 lead after 32 minutes but Liverpool killed the game and the crowd with a goal with the last kick of the 1st half. United knew the game was gone and saw out the 2nd half with little effort. The United goal came from Anthony Martial, a penalty, and the Liverpool goal came from Phillipe Countinho (10, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Fletcher/Owen/Francis, PAL)
Quarter Final, 1st Leg - Liverpool (1) @ (1) Borussia Dortmund - On an emotional night in Dortmund, Liverpool earned a draw to take back to Anfield for the 2nd Leg. The game marked Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp's return to Dortmund for the 1st time since he left in 2015. Liverpool took a 1-0 lead in at the half with a Divock Origi goal, but Dortmund equalised after the break with a goal from captain Mats Hummels. Both teams had their chances for a 2nd goal but the game ended in a draw. Before the teams came onto the pitch at the start of the game, both teams joined in a rendition of "You'll Never Walk Alone" (10, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Fletcher/Owen, PAL)
Quarter Final, 2nd Leg - Borussia Dortmund (3) @ (4) Liverpool - Liverpool sensationally made it through to the Semi-Finals with a big come-back win at Anfield. Dortmund started fast and played fantastic football to take a 2-0 lead after 9 minutes and 3-1 lead after 57 minutes. But Liverpool fought back to tie the game at 3-3 with 13 minutes left and piled on the pressure late in the game to find the winner. And in the 91st minute, defender Dejan Lovren headed in the goal to break the Dortmund fans hearts. The other Liverpool goals came from Divock Origi, Phillipe Coutinho and Mamadou Sakho. The Dortmund goals came from Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Marco Reus (10, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Fletcher/Owen, PAL)
Semi-Final, 2nd Leg - Villarreal (0) @ (3) Liverpool - Liverpool overturned a 1-0 deficit from the 1st leg to book a place in the Final. The Reds pressured Villarreal from the start and were rewarded with an own-goal after 7 minutes that levelled the tie. Further pressure in the 2nd half resulted in 2 more goals and the Reds coasted home to the win. The Liverpool goals came from Daniel Sturridge and Adam Lallana (10, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Darke/Hargreaves, PAL)
Final - Sevilla (3) v (1) Liverpool - Sevilla staged a big 2nd half come back to win their 3rd consecutive Europa League trophy. Liverpool had the better of the 1st half and led 1-0 at the break with a great goal from Daniel Sturridge. But Sevilla regrouped at Half-Time and came out of the break on fire, equalising within 20 seconds then scoring 2 more goals in a dominant 2nd half performance. The goals came from Coke (2) and Kevin Gameiro (10, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Fletcher/Hargreaves, PAL)