The teams that have qualified for the knockout phase of the Europa League have been announced. The last matches in the group stage were played on Thursday evening. The group winners qualify directly for the eighth finals, while the runners-up finish an intermediate round, the sixteenth final, against the outflows of the Champions League. Barcelona, among others, is part of the latter group. The numbers three from the group stage of the Europa League enter the intermediate round of the Conference League.
The entry of the Conference League brings about the necessary changes for the Europa League. In the latter competition, the number of participating teams in the group stage has been reduced from 48 to 32. The group winners receive a seeded status, which in practice means that they immediately qualify for the eighth finals. The numbers two from each group in the Europa League will face the numbers three from the Champions League in an intermediate round. The matches in the intermediate round will be played on 17 and 24 February. The eighth finals will take place on March 10 and 17.
group heads
Olympique Lyon closed the sixth round in Group A with a 1-1 draw against the Rangers of trainer Giovanni van Bronckhorst. The loss of points did not bother the team of trainer Peter Bosz, as the French were already certain of a group win. In Group B, in which PSV finished in third place, AS Monaco became group winner. In Group C, group head Spartak Moscow finished above Napoli and Leicester City, while Group D was won by Eintracht Frankfurt. Later in the evening, Galatasaray secured first place in Group E. In Group F, Red Star’s 1-1 draw against SC Braga was enough to secure first place, while Bayer Leverkusen was already certain of winning Group G. In the last group, Group H, West Ham United finished as leader.
Qualified for the eighth final Europa League: AS Monaco, Bayer Leverkusen, Eintracht Frankfurt, Galatasaray, Olympique Lyon, Red Star, Spartak Moscow, West Ham United.
Runners up
Van Bronckhorst already led his team to the next round in the Europa League in his debut game at the helm at Rangers. Lyon could no longer be traced. Real Sociedad finished in Group B thanks to the 3-0 victory over PSV behind Monaco. Napoli was 3-2 too strong for Leicester on Thursday and also qualifies for the sixteenth final. Olympiacos could afford a 1-0 defeat to Royal Antwerp to secure second place in Group D. Lazio finished number two and above Olympique Marseille in Group E; Braga finished runner-up in Group F. The remaining numbers two are Real Betis (Group G) and Dinamo Zagreb (Group H).
Qualified for the Europa League sixteenth final: Dinamo Zagreb, Lazio, Napoli, Olympiacos, Rangers, Real Betis, Real Sociedad, SC Braga.
Champions League outflows
The strongest group of the field of participants in the sixteenth final comes on paper from the Champions League. The numbers three of the group stage in the billion-dollar ball meet the numbers two from the Europa League in the intermediate round on 17 and 24 February. The outcasts of the Champions League can therefore not meet in the sixteenth final. Atalanta lost 2-3 to Villarreal on Thursday evening and was the last club to join this group. On Tuesday it was already announced that RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, Sheriff Tiraspol and FC Porto finished third. A day later, the fate was also sealed for Barcelona, Seville and Zenit Saint Petersburg.
As numbers three of the CL qualified for the sixteenth final Europa League: Atalanta, Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, FC Porto, RB Leipzig, Sevilla, Sheriff Tiraspol, Zenit Saint Petersburg.