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Europa League Rewind: RB Leipzig holds off Napoli, Dortmund escapes, and more

The highlighted clash in the UEFA Europa League Round of 32 saw RB Leipzig take on Serie A leaders Napoli. Following a dominant performance at the San Paolo in last week’s first leg, Leipzig held on for a 3-3 aggregate victory advancing on the away goals tiebreaker. Piotr Zielinski opened things at Red Bull Arena, slamming home a rebound after 32 minutes. Lorenzo Insigne pulled Napoli to within a goal from advancing in the 86th-minute but that was the closest the visitors would get. Peter Gulasci made six saves in the match for Leipzig, while the hosts failed to record a shot on goal.

DORTMUND SQUEAKS PAST ATALANTA ON THE ROAD

Borussia Dortmund received an 83rd-minute winner from Marcel Schmlzer to edge Atalanta 4-3 on aggregate away from home. The German who came on as a halftime substitute, scored his first goal of the season from a right-footed effort. Roman Burki made two saves in the win, despite Rafael Toloi finishing from close range in the 11th-minute. Christian Pulisic started for Dortmund, and played 59 minutes in the match.

ARSENAL ADVANCES DESPITE LOSING SECOND LEG

After a 3-0 first leg away win in Sweden last week, Arsenal knew they could play a little more comfortably at the Emirates on Thursday. Despite allowing two goals in quick succession in the first-half, the Gunners advanced 4-2 on aggregate over FK Ostersunds. Hosam Aiesh opened things for the visitors in the 22nd-minute from a right-footed finish. Ostersunds doubled their lead a minute later as Saman Ghoddos set up Ken Sema for his first goal in the competition. Sead Kolasinac’s right-footed goal after 47 minutes sealed the result for Arsenal, advancing them into the Round of 16.

Here’s all of Wednesday and Thursday’s second leg results:

CSKA Moscow 1 – Crvena Zvezda 0 (Aggregate 1-0)

Lokomotiv Moscow 1 – Nice 0 (Aggregate 4-2)

Villarreal 0 – Lyon 1 (Aggregate 1-4)

Atletico Madrid 1 – FC Kobenhaven 0 (Aggregate 5-1)

Dinamo Kiev 0 – AEK Athens 0 (Aggregate 1-1, Kiev advances on away goals)

Zenit St. Petersburg 3 – Celtic 0 (Aggregate 3-1)

RB Leipzig 0 – Napoli 2 (Aggregate 3-3, Leipzig advances on away goals)

Viktoria Plzen 2 – Partizan Belgrade 0 (Aggregate 3-1)

Lazio 5 – Steaua Bucharest 1 (Aggregate 5-2)

Sporting Lisbon 3 – FC Astana 3 (Aggregate 6-4)

Atalanta 1 – Borussia Dortmund 1 (Aggregate 3-4 )

Athletic Bilbao 1 – Spartak Moscow 2 (Aggregate 4-3)

Salzburg 2 – Real Sociedad 1 (Aggregate 4-3)

AC Milan 1 – Ludogorets Razgrad 0 (Aggregate 4-0)

Arsenal 1 – Ostersunds FK 2 (Aggregate 4-2)

Sporting Braga 1 – Marseille 0 (Aggregate 1-3)

The Europa League Round of 16 draw will take place on Friday, February 23rd.

Comments

  1. With Gotze playing well, Reus returning from injury, and Schurrle finding good form, Pulisic has lost his starting role for the past few games. If he is traded to Liverpool, will it be the same situation? With Salah and Mane playing on the wings in their 433, it’s hard to see Pulisic getting more significant minutes.

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