Europa league

Ajax 4-1 Lyon Ajax stand on the verge of the Europa League final after thrashing Olympique Lyon 4-1 in the first leg of their last four clash in Amsterdam on Wednesday. The four-time European champions started slowly but broke the deadlock courtesy of Bertrand Traore's header, with the Burkinabe leaping between a crowd of defenders to send a glancing header into the far corner from a Hakim Ziyech free kick. Ajax doubled their lead through Kasper Dolberg before the break and Germany U21 winger Amin Younes added a third early in the second half. Mathieu Valbuena pulled one back for the French visitors but Traore, on loan from Chelsea, fired in from close range for Ajax's fourth in the final 20 minutes. Four-time European champions Ajax had plenty of chances to add to their tally as Lyon, whose star striker Alexandre Lacazette only started on the bench as he returns from injury, went looking for a second away goal. The Dutch side's last European final … [Read more...] about Europa League: Bertrand Traore strikes twice as impressive Ajax crush Lyon

Ajax 2-0 Schalke This game had been billed as a chance for Markus Weinzierl's men to follow in the footsteps of the Schalke side dubbed the "Eurofighters", who won this competition 20 years ago. But the current crop proved just how far they have to go, with a performance that won't be unfamiliar to those who have caught some of their domestic displays this term. Only goalkeeper Ralf Fährmann saved them from embarrassment. The Royal Blues came in to Thursday's game after hammering Wolfsburg in a 4-1 win that showed there is talent in this squad but, after losing key defender Sead Kolasinac moments before the game, they looked all at sea from the outset. In fact, it was the Dutch side who turned back the clock, showing snatches of the fluid football for which previous Ajax sides have been renowned. The hosts, who had won their previous five Europa League games at the Amsterdam Arena, weaved pretty patterns but initially struggled to really penetrate, until a more direct approach … [Read more...] about Europa League: Sorry Schalke fall to limp Ajax defeat

UEFA's Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) announced on its website on Monday that it had fined Cologne €60,000 ($70,000) and ordered the German club to pay for damage caused by its fans at last month's Europa League game against Arsenal in London. It also said that it had banned Cologne from selling tickets to supporters for its next away fixture in European competition, a sanction that it "deferred for a probationary period of two years." Attending their club's first European match in 25 years, some 20,000 Cologne fans descended upon the Emirates Stadium in London — Arsenal's home ground — despite the fact that the German club had only been allocated 3,000 tickets. The influx of fans caused the kickoff of the game to be delayed for an hour. The Bundesliga club  was later charged with crowd disturbances, inlcluding the setting off of fireworks, throwing of objects and acts of damage. Read more: Cologne fans descend on London … [Read more...] about Cologne fined over crowd trouble in Europa League match at Arsenal

"Fünf!" screamed the Cologne fans hanging from the fences at the front of the south stand, eyes wide in disbelief and fingers outstretched to emphasize the point. "Five!" In 90 minutes against BATE Borisov on Thursday night, their team had found the net more times than they had done in ten Bundesliga matches this season combined and recorded their first win on the international stage in 25 years. Two hours earlier, the mood on the banks of the Rhine had been very different. The euphoria of the club's long-awaited return to Europe last May and the traveling carnival which descended on London in September had long since dissipated. In the dark and drizzle outside the stadium, black market sellers were struggling to give away spare tickets for the visit of the Belorussian champions. Read more: Cologne fans descend on London for return to European football With three defeats from three, Cologne had looked doomed at the bottom of Europa League Group H and when BATE scored twice in … [Read more...] about Significant Europa League win gives Cologne hope for the future

Domzale 2-0 Freiburg (2-1 on agg.) Freiburg crashed out of qualifying for the Europa League after losing the second leg to Slovenian side Domzale. Christian Streich's team had takena one-goal lead into the second leg and looked comfortable to progress after a tough but unspectacular first half. Domzale pressed Freiburg hard and it wasn't until two minutes before the end of the first period that Freiburg threatened - Florian Niederlechner's effort was cleared off the line. Three minutes after thre restart, Caglar Söyüncü gave away a penalty after a clumsy tackle on Matija Sirok. Senijad Ibricic made no mistake from the spot. Freiburg tried to rally back, but Domzale soon had the ball in the back of the net again. Ivan Firer found space down the left and slipped a wonderful ball around the back of the defense where Lovro Bizjak tapped it in at the back post to double Domzale's score. Under pressure and in need of a goal, Freiburg tried to fight back but ran out of … [Read more...] about Freiburg crash out of Europa League in the third round of qualifying