Four Premier League clubs were in European action again this week, with one Champions League tie and three Europa League ties on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
This week’s only English-featuring Champions League fixture was Liverpool’s return leg against RB Leipzig, played in the same stadium as the first leg (the Puskas arena in Budapest). Liverpool had taken a commanding league in the first tie, capitalising on Leipzig’s defensive mistakes to score two crucial away goals, putting them into a comfortable position for the second tie.
They did not let this lead slide. Liverpool looked comfortable on the night, defensively solid and productive in the attack, and should have scored at least three by halftime. In the second half, the floodgates finally opened, with a quick counterattack ending with a cool Mo Salah finish. Four minutes later, Liverpool put the tie out of reach from the German side when Sadio Mané converted on Divock Origi’s cross to make it 2-0.
This performance was very different from their recent Premier League games, as they played with an assured confidence, and Jurgen Klopp smiled more times in an hour than he had in weeks. The Reds will look to use this as a jumping point to revive their collapsed league form.
In the Europa League, Arsenal’s strong performance against Olympiacos was only marred by a number of defensive mistakes. They took the lead in the first half through a thumping Odegaard goal, only to give the Greek side a way back into the game by giving the ball away at the edge of the box to concede. They came back strong though, with Gabriel’s header and Mohamed Elneny’s strike sealing two more away goals and positioning them nicely to progress to the quarter-finals after that 3-1 win.
Tottenham were just as impressive in their game against Dinamo Zagreb, never looking in danger of conceding at home and winning 2-0. Harry Kane scored twice for Spurs, once in each half, and Mourinho’s side could probably have scored more as well as have had a penalty for a foul on Tanguy Ndombele. Nevertheless, they will be pleased to go into the away leg having kept a clean sheet at home.
Manchester United were the only side to see themselves in a spot of trouble in Europe, as they played AC Milan at home. The Milanese side were excellent throughout the game, with two goals ruled out in the first half, and a number of chances spurned throughout the game.
It was Manchester United who broke the deadlock through an exquisite header from Amad Diallo. Although they had opportunities to extend their lead prior to and post the Diallo strike, namely Harry Maguire’s miss from less than a yard out, the final goal of the game came from Kjaer’s injury-time header which levelled up the score to 1-1 and set up what will certainly be a thrilling second leg in Milan.
Next week sees another set of European fixtures: Manchester City play their home leg against Borussia Monchengladbach (2-0 agg.), while Chelsea face Atletico Madrid (1-0 agg.). All of the Europa league ties mentioned above will also see their second legs played out on Thursday.
