TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The Conference League tournament was designed to give smaller teams a chance to play continental soccer deeper into the European season.
It worked for much of the inaugural competition, but the bigger teams took over by the semifinals.
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Dozens of soccer fans have been deported back to Italy following violent clashes in Tirana ahead of Wednesday’s Europa Conference League final, Albania’s deputy head of police said.
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — Tens of thousands of soccer fans are expected to visit the Albanian capital of Tirana for the Europa Conference League final between Dutch club Feyenoord and Italian team Roma on Wednesday.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Wednesday:
EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE FINAL:
The final of the inaugural Europa Conference League features two established clubs, with Roma facing Feyenoord in Albania's capital Tirana.
PARIS (AP) — In a season when soccer violence has made an ugly comeback, a potential menace hangs over Wednesday's Europa Conference League final between Dutch club Feyenoord and Italy's Roma in the Albanian capital of Tirana.
A hard-working, unified team playing attacking and entertaining soccer.
Erik ten Hag has set out his vision for Manchester United after being presented as the fifth manager in nine years at a fallen giant coming off its worst ever season in the Premier League.
TURIN, Italy (AP) — Tammy Abraham scored twice to help Roma win at Torino 3-0 on Friday and seal a spot in Europe for next season ahead of the Europa Conference League final next week.
Both Abraham goals came in the first half of Roma’s final Serie A match.
ROME (AP) — Call it what you want — a third-tier competition, or even a “coppetta” (Italian for “small cup”) — the final of the inaugural edition of the Europa Conference League represents a big opportunity for Roma striker Tammy Abraham.
ROME (AP) — José Mourinho sees no reason to stop now after reaching another European final while approaching his 60th birthday.
The 59-year-old Mourinho was asked Wednesday if critics had been too quick to write him and 62-year-old Carlo Ancelotti off too quickly.
TIRANA, Albania (AP) — The Albanian government has declared a public holiday in Tirana for next Wednesday when the capital city hosts the Europa Conference League final between Roma and Feyenoord.
There will be a pedestrian-only zone as part of measures "to organize in the most exemplary way one of the most major events that have occurred in Albania,” Interior Minister Bledi Cuci said Wednesday.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku were all called back into the 32-man Belgium squad on Wednesday ahead of upcoming Nations League matches.
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez had rested the Red Devils' big names for matches in March to focus on players with fewer than 50 international appearances.
GENEVA (AP) — Even Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp took a critical swipe at UEFA with ticket prices and ticket quotas again the subject of conflict ahead of the three upcoming European club competition finals.
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Roma and Feyenoord have each been allocated 4,000 tickets for their fans at the Europa Conference League final in Albania with three quarters of the tickets given free, UEFA said on Tuesday.
BRIGHTON, England (AP) — Manchester United must want this season to end now.
Make that five straight away losses for United in the English Premier League after a chastening 4-0 thrashing by Brighton on Saturday.
MARSEILLE, France (AP) — Dimitri Payet will miss the remaining three games of the French league season for Champions League-chasing Marseille after tearing a calf muscle.
ROME (AP) — Gesticulating on the touchline in a black vest and a gray hooded sweatshirt, José Mourinho could have easily been mistaken for one of the 70,000 fans inside the Stadio Olimpico.
The outspoken Portuguese coach had told Roma supporters before the Europa Conference League semifinal that they shouldn’t come to the stadium just “to watch” the game but rather “to play” it.
Eintracht Frankfurt reached its first European final in 42 years by knocking West Ham out of the Europa League on Thursday, setting up a title game against Scottish club Rangers.
Frankfurt beat 10-man West Ham 1-0 at home to complete a 3-1 aggregate victory in the semifinals, while Rangers overturned a 1-0 deficit from the first leg by defeating RB Leipzig 3-1 at a raucous Ibrox Stadium in Glagow.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — More than 30 arrests were made after supporters of English club West Ham and local team Eintracht Frankfurt clashed before their Europa League game, police said Thursday.
Frankfurt police said in a statement that they had to intervene “at several locations” the previous night because of fights between rival fans or because supporters “wanted to fight.” The police said they stopped major altercation around the main train station.
Eintracht Frankfurt is a step away from reaching its first European competition final in more than 40 years after beating West Ham 2-1 in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals on Thursday.
The German team had knocked out Barcelona in the quarterfinals and quickly shocked West Ham when Ansgar Knauff scored 51 seconds after kickoff at the London Stadium.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Thursday:
EUROPA LEAGUE
After Eintracht Frankfurt fans took over the Camp Nou for their upset quarterfinal win over Barcelona, London is the next destination as their team plays West Ham in the first leg of the semifinals.
Once a model of coaching stability in Alex Ferguson’s long trophy-filled tenure, Manchester United hired a fifth full-time manager in nine years since his retirement by bringing in Erik ten Hag from Ajax.
LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — The remaining Manchester United fans inside Anfield were chanting for the club's owners to sell when the coaches and players were already back inside analyzing their failings in a humiliating 4-0 loss to Liverpool.
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Violence by Marseille fans led to UEFA ordering the French club on Tuesday to close part of its stadium for the Europa Conference League semifinal against Feyenoord.
The punishment, after unrest in the quarterfinals against Greek club PAOK, will also see Marseille fined €80,000 ($86,000) for the lighting of fireworks, throwing of objects and crowd disturbances, and a further €18,000 for blocking public passageways.
Barcelona's European campaign has gone from bad to worse in its first season post Lionel Messi.
First the Spanish powerhouse was eliminated from the lucrative Champions League, and now it has been knocked out of the second-tier Europa League by Eintracht Frankfurt.
LEICESTER, England (AP) — Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scored his first Premier League goal as Leicester beat Crystal Palace 2-1 Sunday to swap positions with the Eagles.
The midfielder held off Cheikhou Koyate before brilliantly firing in his third goal of the season just before the break.
Barcelona failed to win an away match in the Europa League for the first time after it was held 1-1 by 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Ferran Torres salvaged the draw in the second-tier European competition with an equalizer following a series of fluent passes around the box in the 66th minute.
LONDON (AP) — Crystal Palace dominated from the start to beat Arsenal 3-0 in the Premier League on Monday as Patrick Vieira's side dealt his former team a big blow in the fight for a top-four finish.
Facing another free-flowing attack, Benfica will take on Liverpool in the Champions League likely betting on the same defensive formula that worked so well against Ajax.
Benfica hosts Liverpool in the first leg of the quarterfinals on Tuesday in Lisbon, with the English club bringing another attacking-minded squad similar to Ajax’s.
A look at what’s happening in the Champions League on Tuesday:
BENFICA vs. LIVERPOOL
Liverpool will continue its quest for a quadruple of major trophies when it visits Benfica, considered one of the easiest teams in the draw for the last eight.
THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Netherlands national soccer team coach Louis van Gaal has revealed that he is being treated for an aggressive form of prostate cancer but still plans to lead the team at the World Cup in Qatar in November.
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Welcome back.
Christian Eriksen scored moments after entering as a substitute for Denmark against the Netherlands on Saturday to make a dream return in his first international match since his cardiac arrest during the European Championship in June.
YAOUNDE, Cameroon (AP) — Cameroon goalkeeper André Onana escaped unhurt after being involved in a serious car crash on Tuesday while traveling to the team camp ahead of a decisive World Cup playoff, the national soccer federation said.
ANTWERP, Belgium (AP) — Former Dutch soccer great Marc Overmars was appointed sports director at Belgian club Antwerp on Monday, only weeks after abruptly quitting at Ajax after admitting to sending inappropriate messages to female colleagues.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the winning goal for Barcelona to secure a 2-1 victory over Galatasaray on Thursday and send the struggling European powerhouse into the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Thursday:
EUROPA LEAGUE
Barcelona will look to produce another big away performance in the Europa League to advance to the quarterfinals.
AMSTERDAM (AP) — Unable to win at home yet again, Ajax’s great Champions League run has suddenly ended.
Ajax couldn’t halt a 26-year winless streak at home in the knockout rounds of the European competition on Tuesday, losing 1-0 to Benfica to waste a perfect campaign in the group stage.
A look at what’s happening in the Champions League on Tuesday:
MANCHESTER UNITED vs. ATLETICO MADRID (1-1)
United's bid to reach the quarterfinals for just the second time since 2014 has been boosted by Bruno Fernandes' return to the squad after testing negative for the coronavirus.
Barcelona's newfound attacking verve vanished Thursday as the club was held to a 0-0 draw by Galatasaray at Camp Nou in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Europa League.
Barcelona is having a miserable season but had shown signs of recovery lately by winning four straight games in all competitions and scoring a combined 14 goals in that stretch.
American midfielder Luca de la Torre scored his first goal of the season, helping Heracles beat Zwolle 2-0 in the Dutch Eredivisie.
De la Torre, a 23-year-old from San Diego, put Heracles ahead in the 19th minute Saturday when he chipped the ball over goalkeeper Kostas Lamprou with a right-foot shot from 23 yards.
NYON, Switzerland (AP) — Russian club Spartak Moscow will play at Leipzig in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Europa League before needing to find a neutral venue outside the country to host the return match.
Barcelona found its scoring touch again to reach the round of 16 of the Europa League with a 4-2 win over Napoli on Thursday, while Rangers knocked out Borussia Dortmund in Glasgow.
Frenkie de Jong scored with a long-range curler and newly signed striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted again for Barcelona, which had been held 1-1 at home in the first leg.
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Sébastien Haller can't stop scoring in the Champions League. He now has 11 goals in seven matches for Ajax — and one for Benfica.
Haller scored for both teams Wednesday as Benfica came from behind twice to hold Ajax to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 clash Wednesday.
WATFORD, England (AP) — Crystal Palace distanced itself from the Premier League's relegation zone with a 4-1 win over next-to-last Watford at Vicarage Road on Wednesday.
The Eagles had gone into the game on the back of a six-match winless run in the league, but took a 15th-minute lead when Jean-Philippe Mateta’s shot took a deflection off a defender and into the net.