Europa League draw LIVE: Liverpool and West Ham learn quarter-final fate
Liverpool have drawn Italian side Atalanta in the Europa League quarter-finals while West Ham face Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen
Liverpool will face Italian opposition in the Europa League quarter-finals in the form of Atalanta, while fellow Premier League side West Ham will take on one of the toughest teams remaining in the competition – Bayer Leverkusen – after the draw took place at Uefa’s headquarters in Nyon this afternoon.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds are the slight favourites to win the tournament after thrashing Sparta Prague 11-2 in the last 16 and will play Atalanta in the quarter-finals with the first leg at Anfield, while West Ham overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to down Freiburg this week but now face another German side, with the mammoth task of Xabi Alonso’s all-conquering Leverkusen in front of them.
The first quarter-final drawn out was a tasty all-Italian clash between AC Milan and Roma, where the sides will renew a rivalry that has seen them both climb into Serie A’s top five this season, while Benfica of Portugal and French side Marseille will also do battle for a spot in the semi-finals.
If Liverpool were to beat Atalanta, they would take on the winner of Benfica-Marseille for a place in the final, while the Hammers’ reward for upsetting the odds against a Leverkusen side that haven’t lost a single game this season would be a semi-final against AC Milan or Roma.
Follow live updates from the Europa League draw below.
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Analysis: It isn’t about the celebrations – Arsenal’s Champions League progress shows a crucial step is behind them
Mikel Arteta tried to put on a managerial demeanour as he congratulated his players on going the distance and beating Porto, but ultimately, he couldn’t keep the joyous smile off his face. It was all too visible as he came out of the dressing room and then sat down in front of the media.
Arteta was thrilled.
Those who speak of the exacting standards of winners might say that’s a bit much for a mere Champions League last-16 penalty shootout victory over a side Arsenal should be beating fairly easily, in the way this side have generally had their celebrations policed.
There was obviously much more to it than that. It wasn’t even that the club had reached the quarter-finals, either. It was that the team had made another crucial step, with this one admittedly a giant leap.
Read Miguel Delaney’s full piece:
Arsenal’s Champions League progress shows a crucial step is behind them
The Gunners beat Porto on penalties to reach the quarter-finals at the first attempt under Mikel Arteta
English clubs set for extra Champions League spot next season
The Premier League’s hopes of gaining an extra Champions League spot in next season’s revamped competition were given a major boost on Thursday following West Ham United’s crucial win over Freiburg.
The Champions League is being expanded to a 36-team tournament from 2024/25 and two of the extra four places will be awarded to countries whose teams perform best in this season’s European competitions.
As confirmed by Uefa on its website, England currently sits third in the race, behind Italy and Germany, which would mean Serie A and the Bundesliga receive a fifth Champions League place next season.
But the margin between Germany and England shrunk after Thursday’s Europa League results, and England – who have five teams left in European competition this season compared to Germany’s three – are almost certain to overtake Germany and steal that extra Champions League spot.
Champions League 2023-24 top scorers
There are four players out in front in the race for the Champions League golden boot this season – Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and Antoine Griezmann. That’s not a bad list of European forwards, is it.
Of those players still in the competition, Griezmann’s Atletico teammate Alvaro Morata is one behind with five goals, as is Haaland’s City teammate Julian Alvarez.
6 – Harry Kane (Bayern), Kylian Mbappe (PSG), Erling Haaland (Man City), Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid).
5 – Rasmus Hojlund (Man United)*, Alvaro Morata (Atletico Madrid), Galeno (Porto)*, Julian Alvarez (Man City).
4 – Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Evanilson (Porto)*, Phil Foden (Man City), Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal), Lois Openda (Leipzig)*, Danylo Sikan (Shakhtar)*, Ciro Immobile (Lazio)*.
*knocked out of the tournament
What will the Champions League look like next season?
Perhaps the new Champions League format, which begins next season, could solve the problem.
Since 2003, the Champions League has been a 32-team competition with a single group-stage phase followed by a knockout phase. The 32 teams, seeded according to league position and Uefa coefficient, have been split into eight groups of four, with the top two teams progressing to the last-16 after six rounds of matches in a round-robin format with both home and away matches. That has then been followed by three two-legged rounds, the last-16, quarter-finals and semi-finals, with matches played home and away, before the final at a neutral venue.
From 2024, the group stage will look completely different.
There are two main changes: four additional teams will be added to take the number of clubs up to 36, and a single league format will be used. The league phase will determine an overall ranking - from 1st to 36th, with three points for a win and one for a draw as usual. The top eight teams will advance to the last 16, with the 16 teams finishing between ninth and 24th entering the play-off round over two legs, with a victory securing passage to the last 16. Teams who finish 25th or below will be eliminated and will not drop down to the Europa League.
Read more on the Champions League revamp coming next season:
What will the new Champions League group stage look like next season?
This is the last season of the 32-team format before major changes are introduced in 2024
Europa League quarter-final draw
A reminder that straight after the Champions League draw, we’ll have coverage of the Europa League draw. Who do Liverpool and West Ham want to avoid?
‘The Champions League has gone stale'
After eight heavyweight clubs reached the quarter-finals, has the Champions League become too predictable?
It is only becoming as predictable as many domestic leagues, writes chief football writer Miguel Delaney. Profit has been prioritised over the health of the game, leading to growing financial disparities that are now beginning to existentially threaten the sport’s lifeblood of unpredictability.
Put bluntly, the immense money the game generates goes to too few places, meaning it almost becomes irrelevant what it earns other than how damaging it becomes.
Full article:
The Champions League has gone stale and is past the point of no return
This week’s dull knockout ties showed the direction elite football has been heading towards for some time, writes Miguel Delaney
How they got here: Dortmund win do-or-die game with PSV
Jadon Sancho scored for the second consecutive match to help fire Borussia Dortmund into the last eight with a 2-0 win over PSV.
After a 1-1 draw in Eindhoven last month, it was a winner-takes-all tie at Westfalenstadion and the hosts made the perfect start. Only three minutes were on the clock when PSV failed to clear their lines and Julian Brandt teed up Sancho, who took a touch before he curled into the bottom corner for his second goal since moving on loan from Manchester United in January.
The big moment for PSV occurred deep into stoppage time when Luuk de Jong played a one-two with Jordan Teze and had only Gregor Kobel to beat, but blazed over and seconds later it was 2-0. From the resulting free kick, a slip by Isaac Babadi allowed Reus a clear run at goal and Dortmund’s talisman slotted home to clinch their place in the quarter-finals.
How they got here: Oblak heroics save Atletico against Inter
Jan Oblak was the hero for Atletico Madrid as they beat Inter Milan on penalties to progress into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Inter, who reached the final of last year’s competition, went ahead at the Wanda Metropolitano through Federico Dimarco, but Diego Simeone’s team showed their usual never-say-die spirit.
Antoine Griezmann levelled instantly and a late effort by Memphis Depay sent the last-16 tie to extra-time where spot-kicks were required.
Oblak starred with saves to deny Sanchez and Klaassen before Inter captain Martinez drilled his spot-kick off target to hand Atletico a 3-2 win on penalties.
How they got here: Lewandowski puts seal on Barcelona’s win over Napoli
Barcelona reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in four years after a thrilling 3-1 home win over Napoli in their last-16 second leg gave them a deserved 4-2 aggregate victory.
Early goals by Fermin Lopez and Joao Cancelo set the hosts on their way and, after Amir Rrahmani cut the deficit before the break, Robert Lewandowski wrapped up the win with a late third.
Napoli had never beaten Barca in their previous five meetings and it turned out to be a repeat of the 2020 Champions League meeting with a 3-1 home win for the Spanish side after a 1-1 draw in Naples.
That was the last time the Catalans had won a knockout stage game in the competition and their most recent qualification for the last eight.
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