No surprises in the Europa League
Seven of the eight teams that qualified for the round of 16 in Europe's second-tier competition were already among the top eight going into the penultimate matchday. There has only been one change in the top eight.
Unlike the Champions League, where it was not decided until the last second which teams would go through directly to the round of 16, the final matchday of the group stage in the Europa League did not produce as many surprises. Only Ferencvaros, who lost predictably and clearly away to Nottingham Forest, dropped out of the top eight in the standings.
The beneficiaries were Betis and Porto, who were separated by only one goal and were going to play for eighth place. With the Hungarians stumbling and the Spanish and Portuguese teams winning, the top eight in the Europa League group stage were decided without any major surprises.
- Olympique Lyon
- Aston Villa
- Midtylland
- Betis
- Porto
- SC Braga
- Freiburg
- Roma
Play-offs drawn
There were no major surprises in the battle to avoid elimination from Europe's second-tier competition. As expected, all teams with 10 or more points remain in the Europa League. Brann and Young Boys finished on nine points, with the Norwegians securing the last ticket to the play-offs thanks to their superior goal difference.
UEFA wasted no time. On Thursday, the final matchday of the Europa League group stage was played, and on Friday, the play-off pairings were drawn. The eight winners will advance to the round of 16, where they will face the eight best teams from the group stage, playing the first leg at home on 19 February and the second leg away on 26 February.
Europa League play-offs:
- Ludogorets - Ferencvaros
- Panathinaikos - Viktoria Plzen
- Dinamo Zagreb - Genk
- PAOK - Celta Vigo
- Celtic Glasgow - Stuttgart
- Fenerbahçe - Nottingham Forest
- Brann - Bologna
- Lille - Red Star
