SOCCER - EUROPA LEAGUE
2016/17
3rd round qualifier, 1st Leg - West Ham (1) @ (2) NK Domzale - West Ham opened their European campaign with a loss in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Both teams were sluggish but NK Domzale took their chances when they came, scoring 2 goals to put them in front in the tie. Both of the Domzale goals came from Matic Crnic. The West Ham goal came from a penalty by Mark Noble. The game marked the West Ham debut for new signings Sofiane Feghouli and Havard Nordtveit (10, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Rae/Allen, PAL)
Group K - Inter Milan (1) @ (2) Southampton - Southampton consolidated 2nd place in the group with a big home win over the Italian giants. Inter's captain Mauro Icardi gave the visitors a 1-0 lead at half-time, but the Saints took the points with a dominant 2nd half display that earned them 2 goals in 5 minutes ; 1 from Virgil van Dijk and the other an own-goal (10, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Champion/Jenas, PAL)
Last 16, 1st Leg - Roma (2) @ (4) Lyon - In a shootout in Lyon, the hosts came back from a 2-1 deficit to take the upper hand in the tie. Both teams combined for 39 shots with 20 on target. Roma held a 2-1 lead at the half, but Lyon roared back with 3 unanswered goals in the 2nd half to take the win. The Lyon goals came from Mouctar Diakhaby, Corentin Tolisso, Nabil Fekir and Alexandre Lacazette. The Roma goals came from Mohamed Salah and Federico Fazio (10, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Champion/Allen, PAL)
Last 16, 2nd Leg - Lyon (1) @ (2) Roma - Lyon advanced to the Quarter Finals with a 5-4 aggregate win over Roma in the Stadio Olimpico. After conceding an early goal, Roma fought back to only trail by 1 goal with 30 minutes left to play and battered the Lyon goal looking for the game-winner. But Lyon held on and celebrated the big win. Roma had 25 attempts on goal with 9 on target. The Lyon goal came from Mouctar Diakhaby. The Roma goals came from Kevin Strootman and an Own Goal. Roma's Francesco Totti came on as an 84th minute substitute (9, 1 Disc, BT Sport - Champion/Allen, PAL)
Semi-Final, 1st Leg - Lyon (1) @ (4) Ajax - In a dominating performance at the Johan Cruyff Arena, Ajax moved one step closer to their first European final in 21 years by overwhelming Lyon. After a slow start, Ajax took control with 3 unanswered goals from Bertrand Traore, Kasper Dolberg and Amin Younes. Lyon, who were missing star striker Alexandre Lacazette to injury, pulled a goal back from Mathieu Valbuena but Ajax finished the scoring with another goal from Traore. Missing between 9:54 and 17:05 in the 1st half - No scoring missed (9, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Drury/Hutchinson, PAL)
Semi-Final, 2nd Leg - Ajax (1) @ (3) Lyon - Ajax booked a place in their 1st European final in 21 years by holding off a strong fight-back by the French side. Ajax scored first but Lyon rattled off 3 unanswered goals to move to within 5-4 on aggregate but Ajax defended well to the end, even when they went down to 10-men following an 84th minute sending off. The Lyon goals came from Alexandre Lacazette (2) and Rachid Ghezzal. The Ajax goal came from Kasper Dolberg (10, 2 Discs, BT Sport - Champion/Hutchinson, PAL)
Final - Ajax (0) v (2) Manchester United - In the wake of the Manchester terrorist attack 2 days previously, United put in an inspired performance to win their 1st Europa League Final and pay tribute to the victims. A goal in each half from Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan did the damage while a strong Defensive game-plan kept the high-scoring Dutch at bay. Ajax controlled possession (69% to 31%) but United had more shots on target and made the most of their chances to take the emotional win. Coverage includes a 45 minute preview of the Final (10, 3 Discs, BT Sport - Fletcher/Hargreaves, PAL)