On Thursday 31st January 2025, 18 fixtures of European Football commenced simultaneously in the last game week of the New Format of the UEFA Europa League. Teams fought for victory in heated contests. 53 goals were scored in a single Europa League Night; the first of its kind. We saw many epic moments like leader Lazio failing to keep their unbeaten run and Spurs auto qualification to the round of 16. Lets explore some of the key Europa League Phase 2024/25 highlights.
Manchester United Set New Unbeaten League Phase Record.
English Giants Manchester United have gone 8 games unbeaten in the Europa League despite their poor run of form at home. Yesterday, they traveled to Romanian side FSCB for the fixture of the new UEFA Europa league phase. Kobe Maino and Diego Dalot inspired the win for United away from home in a 0:2 full time score. They qualified for round of 16 in third place with 18 points. Can they maintain the momentum?
Lazio qualified as top seed despite their loss to Braga
Serie A Giants LAzio lost their round 8 fixture away from home to Portuguese side Braga in a 1:0 contest. Lazio was on the verge of setting a new tournament high; almost attaining maximum group stage points. THe Italians finished on the top of the table with 19 points and +12 goal difference; setting the difference between them and Athletic Club with +8 goal difference.
Braga got eliminated despite their win. They sit in 25th place on the league table with 10 POINTS, one goal behind Fernabache.
Galatasaray Finished 14th despite one loss
Turkish giants Galatasaray failed to secure automatic qualification to the round of 16, despite their unbeaten run in the first seven fixtures. The Turkish side has not won a game away from home this campaign, which was evident in their last fixture where the squad traveled to Netherlands to contest with Ajax. Subsequently, the team lost 2-1 full time. Nevertheless, the Istanbul-based club qualified as one of the seeded teams in the Knockout Play-off Draws.
Ajax are also through to the Knockout Playoffs in 12th place with 13 points.
Round of 16
As per the New UEFA Europa League Phase, the first 8 teams on the league table qualify automatically for the round of 16. This means Lazio, Athletic Club, Manchester United, Tottenham Hot spurs, Frankfurt, Lyon, Olimpiacos and Rangers closing the lower bracket in 8th place with 14 points.
Knockout Playoffs
Teams positioned from 9th place to 24th are going to play the new Edition of the tournament Knockout Playoffs; home and away. The 9th to the 16th place are the seeded teams and 17th to 24th are the unseeded teams. Below is the new format.
UEFA Draw Day: Champions League & Europa League Knockout Fixtures Set to be Revealed
The Knockout Play-off fixture draws for both the UEFA Champions League and Europa League are today; 31st January, 2025. You can catch the show on their website https://www.uefa.com/ and more updates about this legendary competition. Which team are favorites for this seasons campaign? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
Good work
That’s my team😊