All the big news from Thursday’s Europa League matches – Including Liverpool and Tottenham’s fates…
It was an interesting Thursday night in Europe, with a number of favourites crashing out in controversial fashion.
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(Image) Liverpool Have The Fifth-Youngest Team In Europa League, Spurs’ Opponents The Oldest
(Videos) Feyenoord vs Roma Suspended: Gervinho Subjected To Racist Abuse From The Stands
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Here are the five biggest talking points of Thursday’s Europa League:
5) Scenes of racism sees Feyenoord and Roma match suspended
The clash between Dutch side Feyenoord and Serie A giants Roma was rife with controversy, so much so that the referee actually ordered the players off the field.
There were scenes of racism in the first half, with former Arsenal star Gervinho targeted by the Dutch fans and having an inflatable banana thrown at him.
A controversial red card saw the fans erupt and start hurling projectiles at the players. The referee suspended the game, and the players were withdrawn for almost 15 minutes.
4) Terrible Tottenham put to the sword by former Chelsea man
Former Chelsea star Mohamed Salah sealed Tottenham’s fate in Italy, with the Egyptian scoring the second goal that saw Fiorentina triumph 3-1 on aggregate.
Roberto Soldado took a battering on Twitter for his performance, and the player looks totally bereft of confidence. He had a fantastic chance to grab his side a crucial away goal, but one-on-one with the keeper he bizarrely opted to pass instead of shoot – the keeper gathering the poor pass easily.
3) Celtic controversially eliminated
The Scottish side were looking good against Roberto Mancini’s Inter Milan, at least until Virgil van Dijk was controversially given his marching orders.
The Dutchman received two extremely soft yellow cards, and Celtic never looked like getting back into the game after his dismissal.
2) Liverpool disappointingly crash out on penalties
Liverpool were heavy favourites to progress over Turkish side Besiktas, but a poor showing in the second leg saw them painfully eliminated.
Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling were particularly poor, but Brendan Rodgers opted to remove a surprisingly effective looking Mario Balotelli.
It went the distance with a 1-1 aggregate score, and Dejan Lovren missed the final penalty to seal their exit.
1) Everton left as sole survivors
That leaves Everton as the only British club left in the competition, with Roberto Martinez’s side comfortably through after dispatching Swiss side Young Boys.
Romelu Lukaku hasn’t looked his best recently, but he looked supremely confident as he bagged a brace against his Europa League opposition tonight – ensuring a 3-1 win on the night and a 7-2 aggregate win.