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Europa League field: Who can Chelsea, Arsenal draw?

By Nicholas MendolaDec 13, 2018, 9:12 PM EST
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There are 32 teams left in the quest for two spots at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan, one of which will earn an automatic spot in the 2019-20 UEFA Champions League.

[ MORE: Europa League wrap ]

The intrigue in the field took a hit when Rangers and AC Milan failed to advance, meaning there will not be an Old Firm Derby or Milan Derby inside of UEL play.

And Maurizio Sarri‘s last two clubs, Napoli and Chelsea, are seeded for the Round of 32 draw, so they will not meet for at least one more round.

Both Chelsea and Arsenal can draw anyone from the group of unseeded teams, with no English teams in the field. Arsenal-Celtic? Chelsea-Lazio?

Seeded teams
Bayer Leverkusen
Red Bull Salzburg
Zenit Saint-Petersburg
Dinamo Zagreb
Arsenal
Real Betis
Villarreal
Eintracht Frankfurt
Genk
Sevilla
Dynamo Kiev
Chelsea
Napoli
Valencia
Inter Milan
Benfica

Unseeded teams
Zurich
Celtic
Slavia Prague
Fenerbahce
Sporting Lisbon
Olympiacos
Rapid Vienna
Lazio
Malmo
Krasnodar
Rennes
BATE Borisov
Viktoria Plzen
Club Brugge
Shakhtar Donetsk
Galatasaray

Emery praises Arsenal teen: “His personality is very important”

AP Photo/Frank Augstein
By Nicholas MendolaDec 13, 2018, 7:52 PM EST
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Unai Emery played the kids in Arsenal’s 1-0 win over Qarabag on Thursday at the Emirates Stadium, as the Gunners claimed the top spot in their group.

[ RECAP: Arsenal 1-0 Qarabag ]

Bukayo Saka, Carl Jenkinson, Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah, and Zech Medley all got meaningful playing time for the Gunners, and Emery specifically liked Saka (17).

Emery, like Arsene Wenger, believes very much in getting experiencefor his kids.

From The London Evening Standard:

“We have a responsibility to every young player to give them chances to train with us,” Emery told Standard Sport. “We are very demanding of ourselves in his performance. We give them these chances in the games like today when we can do that. They show us positive things in every match.

“Today Saka played with a good performance, with a very big personality. We were speaking at half-time, they were trying one-on-one against the opposition. Not every action was good for us but his personality is very important, continuing in the second half to try to do one-on-ones and break lines with his quality.”

Will anyone have made enough of an impact to get some time in the Premier League? We’ll see, but remember that this Gunners system has sent Reiss Nelson on loan to Hoffenheim.

Also, to put this in perspective: Saka was born six days before Sept. 11, 2001. This class of youngster in the Arsenal system is coming, and coming fast.

Europa League roundup: Arsenal wins; Rangers, AC Milan bounced

AP Photo/Frank Augstein
By Nicholas MendolaDec 13, 2018, 6:00 PM EST
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Twenty-four games in about four hours: It’s the Europa League group stage, and it’s reached its conclusion.

[ MORE: Mourinho: “Job done” in UCL ]

A very young Arsenal claimed its group, Celtic bunkered down but couldn’t advance to the knockout rounds, and rivals Rangers couldn’t quite find the offense needed to complete a promising UEL campaign.

Rapid Vienna 1-0 Rangers

Steven Gerrard‘s promising first European campaign as first team manager has ended thanks to a goal from sub Dejan Ljubicic in Austria. A very even game, Rangers could not find a way past Richard Strebinger.

Arsenal 1-0 Qarabag

Alexandre Lacazette‘s 17th minute goal gave the Gunners a leg up on the group lead in a game with a bunch of unusual faces on the pitch. Carl Jenkinson, Joe Willock, Eddie Nketiah, and Saka Bukayo were among the starters, and Lacazette left for Zech Medley in the 63rd minute as Arsenal saved its best for a trip to Southampton on Sunday (No offense to Mesut Ozil and Laurent Koscielny, who went 90 minutes each).

MOL Vidi 2-2 Chelsea

We’ve already shown you Willian’s terrific free kick, and this match in Hungary was plenty entertaining for a relatively inconsequential outing. Ethan Ampadu scored an own goal two minutes after Chelsea took the lead, and MOL Vidi led 2-1 when Olivier Giroud restored the stalemate in the 75th.

Celtic 1-2 Red Bull Salzburg

The visitors dominated and finally found a way past goalkeeper Craig Gordon through a 67th Moanes Dabbur marker. Celtic went down two with Fredrik Gulbrandsen adding to the score line.

RB Leipzig 1-1 Rosenborg

Matheus Cunha’s goal just after halftime looked to have prodded RBL above Celtic and into the Round of 32, but Tore Reginiussen leveled for the Norwegian side.

Olympiacos 3-1 AC Milan

Gennaro Gattuso’s men are out of Europe after a four-goal second half.

Elsewhere
Villarreal 2-0 Spartak Moscow
Lazio 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt
Sevilla 3-0 Krasnodar
Marseille 1-3 Apollon Limassol
Rennes 2-0 Astana
PAOK 1-3 BATE Borisov
Genk 4-0 Sarpsborg
Dynamo Kiev 0-1 Jablonec
Besiktas 0-1 Malmo
Akhisar Belerdiyespor 0-0 Standard Liege
Slavia Prague 2-0 Zenit Saint-Petersburg
Copenhagen 0-1 Bordeaux
Dinamo Zagreb 0-0 Anderlecht
Sporting Lisbon 3-0 Vorskla Poltava
F91 Dudelange 0-0 Real Betis
Ludogorets Razgrad 1-1 FC Zurich
AEK Larnaca 1-5 Bayer Leverkusen
Spartak Trnava 1-0 Fenerbahce

Gerrard proud despite Rangers exit from Europa League (video)

AP Photo/Ronald Zak
By Nicholas MendolaDec 13, 2018, 4:13 PM EST
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Steven Gerrard‘s promising first European campaign as first team manager has ended thanks to a goal from sub Dejan Ljubicic in Austria.

A very even game, Rangers could not find a way past goalkeeper Richard Strebinger.

[ MORE: JPW’s Premier League picks ]

“In terms of the performance, I can’t fault the players,” Gerrard said to BT Sport. “They gave me everything. In what we had available, they’ve done extremely well. The whole journey, I’m so proud of the team.

“We’ll come again in Europe. Next year we’ll be better cause we’ll have some better players with us and the young lads in the group with learn and grow. We’ll be together for 18 months instead of six.

Gerrard says he wants Rangers to bring the same intensity back to the Scottish top flight, where the Glasgow side are two points back of rivals Celtic. Rangers have played one more game than Celtic.

Europa League preview: Scottish powers, AC Milan in focus

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaDec 12, 2018, 9:37 PM EST
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Let’s be real: There are few top teams still working for their Europa League lives — and we’ll get to them — but there’s much more intrigue regarding the eight new teams set to join the competition after finishing third in their group at the Champions League.

[ MORE: Who can PL clubs draw in UCL? ]

Here are the new boys:

Club Brugge
Inter Milan
Napoli
Galatasaray
Benfica
Shakhtar Donetsk
Viktoria Plzen
Valencia

If we’re being honest, all but two have a legit chance to make a run to the final given the right draw (Club Brugge and Viktoria Plzen seem just a bridge too far here).

And, more importantly, we’ve got the chance for a Sarri Ball reunion special between Chelsea and Napoli, and a Milan Derby (should AC Milan handle its business on Thursday).

Next, here are the teams who’ve already clinched their spots in the UEL:

Bayer Leverkusen
Zurich
Red Bull Salzburg
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Dinamo Zagreb
Fenerbahce
Arsenal
Sporting Lisbon
Real Betis
Eintracht Frankfurt
Lazio
Dynamo Kyiv
Chelsea

And, finally, here are the matches that carry the most interest, aside from already-clinched Chelsea heading to MOL Vidi and Arsenal hosting last-place Qarabag:

Group B: Celtic vs. Red Bull Salzburg; RB Leipzig vs. Rosenborg

RBL has the tiebreaker should it beat Rosenborg, who hasn’t won, and Celtic fail to gain a point from RBS, who hasn’t lost. Will Brendan Rodgers be able to rally his men to a draw or better at home against the team that beat it 3-1 in Austria?

Group F: Olympiacos vs. AC Milan

Gennaro Gattuso’s Milan has a three-point edge on the Greeks for the group’s second spot in the knockout rounds, and took the home leg 3-1. That away goal means 2-0 would do the job for Olympiacos, but any one goal win wouldn’t be enough for the hosts.

Group G: Villarreal vs. Spartak Moscow; Rapid Vienna vs. Rangers

This group is nuts, with all four teams alive for the knockout rounds. Villarreal, however, can make it simple by drawing or beating Spartak. Steven Gerrard‘s Glasgow Rangers also have a straight-forward angle, needing to topple Rapid Vienna.