The Europa League now has its four semi-finalists. Roma, Atalana, Bayer Leverkusen and Olympique de Marseille have passed their qualifying rounds tonight and have qualified for the next round of the European competition although, yes, not all of them have done it in the same way.
Without a doubt, the big surprise has been the elimination of Liverpool, which in just a few weeks has seen how it has said goodbye to Europe and has also lost the leadership of the Premier League, although in the domestic competition it can still take flight.
Klopp’s men have paid for their lack of aim and their lack of effectiveness in the first leg at Anfield (0-3) and despite the fact that they have beaten Atalanta away with a solitary penalty goal from Salah in the 7th minute (0-1) , the Italian team has made the result of the first leg count and has qualified for the semi-finals for the second time in its European history.
The one who did take advantage of their favorable result in the first leg and closed their classification at home was Roma, who despite playing with 10 for more than an hour after Çelik’s expulsion, beat Milan again, in this case 2-1 with goals from Mancini and Dybala, and will be in the Europa League semi-finals again for another year.
Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen did not fail either and after winning the first leg 2-0 with two goals in the last minutes, they took a draw from West Ham, who had taken the lead through Antonio, when it seemed that they were going to add their first loss of the season. However, Frimpong scored the German team’s goal in the 89th minute and Leverkusen, after confirming their league championship this past weekend, continue to dream of a treble that is more than possible.
Finally in France, Olympique de Marseille needed penalties to certify their classification against a Benfica that, despite winning the first leg, saw Moumbagna score the home team’s 1-0 lead in the 79th minute and how, later, the French team did not fail. no penalty, while the visitors Di María and António Silva failed to convert their maximum penalties.
In this way, Olympique de Marseille and Atalanta, and Roma and Bayer Leverkusen will face each other in the semifinals that will decide the two finalists who will fight in Dublin on May 22 in the grand final of the Europa League.
