The results of the Europa League and Conference: Dimitri Payet Stars, Barcelona Claw Out A Draw and Rangers Disappointing

Rahul Mahariya -
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Here's everything you need to know from Thursday's action in Europe

Goals were tough to score in the first leg of the Europa League quarter-finals but Thursday's slate featured red cards and plays everywhere that were anything but boring. Eintracht Frankfurt was the headliner at home against Barcelona, ​​as the hosts rattled off 16 shots despite losing the fight for possession en route to a 1–1 draw. Anger Knauf's goal was canceled out just after halftime by Ferran Torres scoring a beautiful build-up play. It was a match that could have been a historic win for Frankfurt, but Tutu's dismissal in the 78th minute meant he would have to hold on for dear life in the later stages.

Europa league scores

RB Leipzig 1, Atalanta 1
West Ham 1, Lyon 1
Eintracht Frankfurt 1, Barcelona 1
Braga 1, Rangers 0

Conference league score

Feyenoord 3, Slavia Prague 3
Marseille 2, PAOK 1
Bodo/Glimt 2, AS Roma 1
Leicester City 0, PSV Eindhoven 0

Like with Galatasaray in the round of 16 second leg, Barcelona will have a lot of work to do but they will feel good about things headed to Camp Nou while they are in contention. On the work front, Bodo/Glimt have officially become Roma's bogey team. After beating Jose Mourinho's team twice during the Europa Conference League group stage, Hugo Veltsen again played the spoiler in the 89th minute for the home win.

It was a similar match as Roma played a solid game with Lorenzo Pellegrini scoring just before half and being canceled out in the 56th minute by Ulric Saltanes. You never know what you will get from Roma which adds to the beauty of their matches these days. And it's hard to call it an upset when the lucky, upstart team doesn't lose to you three times.

West Ham also struggled with a 1-1 draw at Lyon, but given the circumstances, David Moyes would be happy with the result. Aaron Cresswell was sent straight to the opening shower with a red card for a reckless challenge, where he was pulled to Moussa Dembele. While the contact was minimal and it was hard to prove that it was deprived of a clear goal-scoring opportunity, these are decisions you can't leave up to the referee.

Fortune will be in West Ham's favor as Jarrod Bowen made the opener in the 52nd minute after Pablo Fornals blocked a pass from Gusto. The deflection that followed was enough to pass the ball to Bowen, who basically drove the ball into the net.

West Ham would not be able to keep the lead as Tanguy Ndombele followed Tete's shot to score on their East London rivals. While Criswell will not be available for the second leg in France, West Ham have previously shown they cannot be ruled out of either match.

Match of the Day: Feyenoord 3, Slavia Praha 3

This one game produced almost as many goals as all four Europa League games combined. Slavia Prague will feel tough with a draw despite winning the xG fight from 2.70 to 1.30. The Dutch side opened the scoring through Louis Sinister in just 10 minutes into the match. There were indications it would be a high-scoring affair as Orkun Kokku dodged the post in the 18th minute before missing from Peter Olayinka in what was actually the best chance of the first half. However, he leveled things in the half with a goal in the 41st minute.

Slavia Prague thought they were gaining some distance as Yera Soar scored in the 67th minute before Marcos Baron scored for Feyenoord only seven minutes later. Kokku continued the redemption show to make up for missed opportunities by scoring Feyenoord's third goal in the 86th minute, but Ibrahim Traore sent the tie deeper to stop things turning interesting before the second leg in Prague.

Player of the Day: Dimitri Payet

Payette had a day for Marseille. Four chances were created, an amazing assist and an absolute stunner of a goal gave his team a one-goal advantage to move into the second leg in PAOK. Gerson's suspension for that match (via a stoppage-time red card) would hurt, but if Payette continues to produce world-class, jaw-dropping hits, anything is possible for the French side. While Payette hasn't been tasked with much on the defensive end, as he is at his best and most dangerous when he's setting up crosses and creating chances for Marseilles, the attacker is in third.

 

Biggest Disappointment: Rangers

Losing 1-0 to Braga isn't great when you consider that Rangers' most likely route to the Champions League is to win the Europa League. Remember, this is the same Rangers side that scored six goals from Borussia Dortmund in the last round, so not even scoring a shot on goal in a match where they had the advantage of possession is a big disappointment. All shots were also in the box so it's not like Braga packed the box to make sure Rangers didn't have chances. Braga had a good plan in place and Abel Ruiz's goal in the 40th minute put them ahead, but they will have to be careful in the second leg to ensure they hold on to the lead.

Target of the day: Dmitry Payet

We've seen Payette do ridiculous things on the pitch before, but his first hit at the stroke of halftime was something special. Marseille won the match 2-1 and Payette's stunner needs a repeat. A moving highlight reel, it's amazing what Payette can still produce in ways that blow our minds at 35, but here we are.

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