Europa League

BRENDAN RODGERS’ European curse struck again as Leicester crashed out of the Europa League with barely a whimper.
For the fifth time in five attempts Rodgers failed to make it past the last 32 in this competition – twice with Liverpool, twice with Celtic and now with a Leicester City side who should have been certs to end his agony.

Leicester crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday nightCredit: Reuters

Slavia Prague celebrated a shock 2-0 win at the King Power StadiumCredit: Reuters

Sweet 16? It simply doesn’t exist for the Northern Irishman who was left with a very sour taste in his mouth after watching his much-vaunted side fold here.
Friday marks Rodgers second anniversary as Leicester City manager but he will be in no mood to celebrate the occasion at lunchtime when the draw for the last 16 is made and Leicester aren’t in there alongside Arsenal, Spurs, Manchester United and even old foes Rangers.
Leicester were the only British side who failed to fly the flag – and if we’re honest none of us saw it coming.
Lukasz Provod a 24-year-old student of business and economics management did the business for Slavia, firing home from close range from a wonderful sweeping Nicolae Stanciu cross four minutes into the second half.

The economics for Leicester don’t bear thinking about as they failed to make it to the money-spinning later stages.
Their fate was sealed 11 minutes from the end with a striker they may yet turn to one day when the time comes to give club legend Jamie Vardy some stiff competition for his place.
The 34-year-old was barely given a kick by Slavia’s defenders.
Meanwhile Abdallah Sima, a stop-gap summer from the fifth tier of French football, sealed Leicester’s fate with his 15th goal in 22 games for Slavia this season.

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Lukas Provod gave the visitors a shock lead early in the second halfCredit: Getty Images – Getty

Abdallah Sima scored a second to seal a shock win for the Czech sideCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The 19-year-old collected a pass from teammate Peter Olyinka 35 yards out and had all the time he needed to drill a venomous low shot which crept inside Kasper Schmeichel’s post with the Dane beaten all ends.
Slavia value the teenage sensation at £50million – it may be a price worth paying.
The Foxes will point to the fact they were without James Maddison whose hip injury kept him out. But starting with Harvey Barnes on the bench smacked of negligence, if not arrogance.
Rodgers sent him on in a desperate triple substitution along with Ricardo Pereira and Timothy Castagne after 61 minutes.

By then they were already a goal down and even with more of their big names on show it was too little, too late.
Rodgers’ last throw of the dice was to send on his own 19-year-old Sidnei Tavares, a Portuguese kid his own fans won’t know much about yet.
Like Rodgers, it is a night which should have been one to remember – rather than one to forget!

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WILLIAN bagged his first assist since November and just his fourth of the season in Arsenal’s thrilling win over Benfica.
The Brazilian, 32, climbed off the bench to haul the Gunners back into their Europa League tie on Thursday night.

A lifeline for Arsenal from Kieran Tierney!Six minutes after going 2-1 down vs. Benfica, the left-back steps up with an excellent low finish to give his team hope! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/zr5LDJeSGs
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 25, 2021

Willian celebrates Arsenal’s winner with goalscorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang after his assist for Kieran Tierney’s equaliserCredit: Getty Images – Getty

He came on in the 63rd minute and just four minutes later set up Kieran Tierney to make it 2-2.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a late winner to seal a 4-3 aggregate win and a place in the last 16.
Willian had only managed three assists this season before Thursday’s clash.
Two of those were on the opening day of the season against Fulham with the other coming against Wolves in November.

Arsenal legend Martin Keown hopes the 32-year-old can turn a corner after a rocky season.
He joined on a free from Chelsea in August but is yet to score in a red shirt.
He said on BT Sport: “This could be the making of Willian, tonight. He’s been a bit gloomy since he’s been there.
“But this is a big moment for him – he’s just come on and been a part of success and hopefully he can perform better going forward.”

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“This could be the making of Willian, tonight.”@martinkeown5 believes that being a part of Arsenal’s #UEL turnaround alongside Bukayo Saka could be the Brazilian’s chance to kickstart his season with the Gunners… 📈 pic.twitter.com/AjJQJjNI2j
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 25, 2021

Keown added: “This is what I want from Willian – run with the ball and test yourself.
“It’s hard and demanding physically but don’t just keep coming back and passing it to someone else.
“We brought you here to make the difference.”

Arsenal boss Arteta refuses to defend transfer flop Willian More

ARSENAL – or rather Dani Ceballos – almost threw away their Europa League dream before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saved them.
They eventually bounced back in a rollercoaster of a tie to deservedly progress 4-3 on aggregate and past Benfica into the last-16.

Arsenal are through to the Europa League last-16 after Aubameyang’s late winnerCredit: Reuters

Dani Ceballos had a stinker for the Gunners an almost cost them dearlyCredit: Reuters

Here’s how Gary Stonehouse rated each of Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal men after their skipper sealed a late victory:
Bernd Leno – 5
His 60th appearance in European club football but he failed to mark it with a clean sheet.
Had little to do in the first half and could do nothing about the free-kick.

Was left in no man’s land by Ceballos for the second – although some could argue he should have been screaming at his team-mate just to clear his lines.
Hector Bellerin – 6 
Got up really well down the flank in the second period after having very little to do in the first half.
The full-back continued to get further upfield and linked up well with Martin Odegaard.

David Luiz clears the danger with a header against BenficaCredit: Reuters
David Luiz – 6
Looked to be in control during the opening 45 minutes but was beaten in the air by ex-Tottenham star Jan Vertonghen at a set-piece for a slight scare.
Once the equaliser went in he and his defensive colleagues faced a spell of pressure but saw them storm out well.
Looked to be in for an easy second half until disaster-struck courtesy of Ceballos and was then guilty of some miscommunication that allowed Benfica another opportunity.
At the age of 33, it doesn’t look like the Brazilian will ever learn to defend first and ask questions later.
Gabriel – 6
Despite conceding twice, both he and Luiz did not have much to do and neither could do anything about the goals.
As they pressed for an equaliser he produced a sloppy square-ball that was almost punished.
Gooners will continue to sit on the edge of their seats for all the wrong reasons until Arteta manages to get in a no nonsense centre-half.

Kieran Tierney got Arsenal right back into it as he capped a great performance with a goalCredit: AP:Associated Press
Kieran Tierney – 8
Arsenal’s Mr Reliable this season was once again the heartbeat of his side and gave it his all again for the Gunners.
His defensive qualities are sometimes questioned, but who cares when he can produce a finish like a seasoned striker.
His left-foot rifle got them level and he continued to be a danger down the left wing alongside Willian until the very end.
Dani Ceballos – 4
Almost carved out a great opening for Saka with a delightful defence-splitting pass only for the attacker to go a split-second early and be flagged offside.
But seconds later he gave away a needless free-kick on the edge of the box and it proved costly as Diogo Goncalves superbly curled over the wall and past Leno.
Just as Arsenal looked to be back in control the midfielder suffered another nightmare in what proved to be his final touch as his poor header back to Leno was cut out and punished by Rafa Silva.
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Granit Xhaka – 7
Not known for his attacking prowess, attempted to break the deadlock with a long-ranger inside the opening ten minutes.
Got around the pitch well and tried to help his team win back the ball as high as possible.
Emile Smith Rowe – 5
An unfortunate night for the youngster that lasted less than an hour with very little created.
Struggled to make much happen and as soon as the Gunners fell behind, he was replaced by the more experienced Willian.
Martin Odegaard – 6 
The Norwegian looked comfortable on the ball throughout but needs to turn that possession into something purposeful.
He almost did that by sliding in Aubameyang only for the striker to be denied a brace courtesy of VAR.

Saka got both assists for two-goal hero AubameyangCredit: Reuters
Bukayo Saka – 8
The kid just gets better and better and he is fast becoming THE key man for Arsenal.
Produced a sublime pass for Aubameyang’s opener and if he had held his line a little longer he would have been in himself before the break after Ceballos’ through ball.
And just as it looked like Arsenal were going out, he cut inside and whipped a delightful cross to the back post to Aubameyang to tap home.
He has 18 assists now since the start of last season – more than any other player.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 8
After his horror miss in the first leg, he looked to bounce back early tonight when cutting in from left and unleashing a curler that was easily gathered by the keeper.
And not long after he broke the deadlock with a delightful finish from the Gunners’ main man with a chip over the keeper after beating the offside trap to latch on to Saka’s pass.
Moments after the restart he was on the wrong side of VAR when what looked to be a second was ruled out for offside.
But the skipper popped up with the crucial goal right at the end to secure a spot in the last-16.
SUBS
Thomas Partey – 5
There were acres for Benfica to get into in the middle following his arrival.
He was brought on to try and stop that and ensure his team got the ball back, but the Portuguese giants were able to keep the ball and continue finding the space.
Willian – 7
Made an instant impact as he showed a bit of urgency to beat his man and tee-up Tierney to make it 2-2.
Alex Lacazette – 5
Sent on by Arteta with just over ten minutes remaining but made little to no impact.
Calum Chambers – NA
Mo Elneny – NA

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PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG saved Arsenal’s season with a dramatic 87th-minute winner to keep their Europa League hopes alive by the skin of their teeth.
The Gunners were staring down the barrel of a second successive away goals defeat after twice gifting a lifeline to Benfica.

Two-goal hero Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang turned more than the tie on its head as he celebrated his late winnerCredit: Reuters

Skipper Aubameyang is hailed for his Arsenal openerCredit: Reuters

Aubameyang lifted Arsenal in front midway through the first periodCredit: AFP

But just when it looked as if all hope had gone for Mikel Arteta’s men, captain Auba got on the end of Bukayo Saka’s cross to head in his second of the night.
And that was just about enough to secure a place in the last 16 after a night of unbearable tension for their watching fans.
They came into the game knowing a clean sheet would be enough to take them through after securing an away goal in last week’s 1-1 draw in Rome.
But playing for a goalless draw would have been far too much of a risk for an Arsenal team who have not exactly been watertight at the back in recent weeks.

So they accepted that their best form of defence was going to be attack and were rewarded for their boldness midway through the first-half.
Saka’s cute reverse pass opened Benfica up and Aubameyang did the rest with a dink over advancing keeper Helton Leite.
It was a much tougher chance than the absolute sitter which the Arsenal skipper had missed in the first leg.
But all the goal achieved was to force Benfica into committing more men forward in search of an equaliser.

Kieran Tierney knew there was still work to do after he made it 2-2 on the nightCredit: AFP

Diogo Goncalves celebrates making it 1-1 on the night, 2-2 on aggregateCredit: Reuters

Wideman Goncalves drew Benfica level with a stunning free-kick just before the breakCredit: AP:Associated Press
And they were handed a 42nd minute lifeline by Dani Ceballos’ careless foul which allowed Diogo Goncalves to drill an unstoppable free-kick into the top corner of Bernd Leno’s goal.
It was virtually the first time the Arsenal keeper had to touch the ball all evening as all his team’s first-half dominance was made to count for nothing. 
But they had no-one to blame but themselves for their failure to take advantage of that early lead to put the tie to bed.
They thought they had regained the advantage five minutes after the break when Aubameyang applied another one-touch finish to Martin Odegaard’s delicious through ball.
But VAR confirmed that the Arsenal skipper had strayed marginally offside and ten minutes later they were undone again by another Ceballos blunder.
Odegaard’s corner was plucked out of the air by Helton, who launched the ball straight down the pitch with Arsenal’s central defenders out of position.
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It should have been easy meat for Ceballos to clear, but the dopy Spaniard’s careless back header left Leno stranded with no chance as the lurking Rafa Silva pounced to fire Benfica ahead.
Suddenly Arsenal needed to score twice to go through and they pulled one back within six minutes when Kieran Tierney arrowed a low shot into the far corner.
And just when it looked like they were running out of time, Auba completed the remarkable comeback right at the death.

Rafa Silva put Benfica 2-1 up on the night before Arsenal hit back with two goalsCredit: Getty Images – Getty

On-loan Arsenal midfielder Dani Ceballos weaves through against BenficaCredit: Reuters

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ARSENAL are taking on Benfica in their Europa League Last 32 second leg tonight.
But, like their first leg in Rome which ended 1-1, the second leg will ALSO be taking place in a neutral venue – this time the Georgios Karaiskakis  stadium in Athens.

The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Greece plays host
Why is Arsenal vs Benfica being played in Athens?

Arsenal vs Benfica is not being played at the Emirates Stadium.
Instead it is being played at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens, meaning the Gunners will be playing a “home” match in Greece.
UK authorities placed Portugal on the red list due to the Brazilian coronavirus variant in January.
This meant the home tie last week could not take place in Benfica’s home stadium, nor Benfica able to travel to the UK for the second leg so neutral venues have been found for both.

Do away goals count?
Despite ties taking place at neutral venues, UEFA have confirmed that away goals will still count as double if the tie is level.
The tie is 1-1 from the first leg in Rome.

What time does Arsenal vs Benfica kick-off?
Kick-off is at 5.55pm GMT today.
The game will take place at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis in Greece, rather than in London at the Emirates because of coronavirus restrictions.

What channel is it on and can it be live streamed?
The game will be shown live on BT Sport 1.
You can stream the action from the BT Sport app, which can be downloaded onto your mobile or tablet device.
Can I watch for FREE?
EE customers can get BT Sport INCLUDED to their plan at no extra cost if they are on a plan with Smart Benefits – simply log in to EE and choose BT Sport app.
And then get it on the big screen by texting SPORT to 150 to get a FREE three-month trial of Large Screen so you can cast all the action on your TV.
At the end of the three months you will automatically roll onto the £5 per month BT Sport Large Screen subscription unless cancelled.
If you click on a link in this story we will earn affiliate revenue. More

ARSENAL take on Benfica in their Europa League Last 32 second leg tonight.
But, like their first leg in Rome which ended 1-1, the second leg will ALSO be taking place in a neutral venue – this time the Georgios Karaiskakis  stadium in Athens.

The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Greece plays host
Why is Arsenal vs Benfica being played in Athens?

Arsenal vs Benfica is not being played at the Emirates Stadium.
Instead it is being played at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens, meaning the Gunners will be playing a “home” match in Greece.
UK authorities placed Portugal on the red list due to the Brazilian coronavirus variant in January.
This meant the home tie last week could not take place in Benfica’s home stadium, nor Benfica able to travel to the UK for the second leg so neutral venues have been found for both.

Do away goals count?
Despite ties taking place at neutral venues, UEFA have confirmed that away goals will still count as double if the tie is level.
The tie is 1-1 from the first leg in Rome.

What time does Arsenal vs Benfica kick-off?
Kick-off is at 5.55pm GMT today.
The game will take place at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis in Greece, rather than in London at the Emirates because of coronavirus restrictions.
What channel is it on and can it be live streamed?
The game will be shown live on BT Sport 1.
You can stream the action from the BT Sport app, which can be downloaded onto your mobile or tablet device.
Can I watch for FREE?
EE customers can get BT Sport INCLUDED to their plan at no extra cost if they are on a plan with Smart Benefits – simply log in to EE and choose BT Sport app.
And then get it on the big screen by texting SPORT to 150 to get a FREE three-month trial of Large Screen so you can cast all the action on your TV.
At the end of the three months you will automatically roll onto the £5 per month BT Sport Large Screen subscription unless cancelled.

What is the team news?
Thomas Partey won’t be available for the Gunners once again because of a hamstring problem.
Rob Holding is also unlikely to take part because of a concussion he sustained in the 1-0 loss to Manchester City last weekend.

Dani Ceballos, Emile Smith Rowe, Gabriel and David Luiz can all expect starts in Mikel Arteta’s side.
Benfica have Jardel and Andre Almeida out with injuries while Julian Weigl is fine to play after his suspension.
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