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Lyon to host 2018 Europa League Final
The Stade des Lumieres will host a UEFA club competition Final for the first time after being named as the venue for the 2017-2018 UEFA Europa League Final.
The stadium was opened earlier this year in advance of EURO 2016, where it staged 6 matches, including France's round of 16 defeat of the Republic of Ireland and the semi-final between Portugal and Wales. It is also scheduled to hold the opening game and the Final of the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The decision was taken at Friday's UEFA Executive Committee meeting in Nyon.
The Final will take place on Wednesday 16 May 2018. The other 2018 club finals will be hosted by Kyiv (UEFA Champions League) and Tallinn (UEFA SuperCup).
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Pick of the UEFA Europa League group stages
Team: Shakhtar Donetsk
Special mentions go to Fenerbahce and APOEL, but it is difficult to look beyond Shakhtar. The runaway Ukrainian league leaders won 6 out of 6 in Group H, ending just one strike shy of Napoli's record of 22 goals in a group campaign. The only negative for Shakhtar is the knowledge that none of the previous 7 sides to end the group stage with a 100% record went on to win the competition.
Player: Giuliano (Zenit Sankt Petersburg)
Giuliano never settled in Europe during his spell at Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in Ukraine between 2011 and 2014, but the Brazil forward is making a bigger impression second time around. A summer signing from Gremio, he scored the 86th-minute equaliser then set up the winner in a sensational victory at Maccabi Tel-Aviv (more on that later) and twice saved his side's blushes against Dundalk. He ended the group stages with 6 goals and 4 assists.
Breakthrough star: Leon Bailey (Genk)
Not many gave Genk much hope in a tough looking group alongside Athletic Bilbao, Sassuolo and Rapid Vienna, but they made it comfortably. Jamaican winger Bailey was the inspiration, contributing 4 goals and 2 assists, and drawing comparisons with friend Raheem Sterling.
"He's so quick it's not normal", ex-Barca and Holland midfielder Ronald de Boer reckons. "He couples that with great technique - an exceptional combination."
Goal: Moussa Sow (Fenerbahce 2-1 Manchester United)
The pressure that comes with replacing a big-name striker like Robin van Persie, depriving him the chance of starting against his former club no less, can weigh heavily even on experienced shoulders. There's a tendency to go safety first, getting a few touches in, simple lay-offs, and slowly release the burden. Or you can just do what Sow did against United on matchday 4: wait 74 seconds before sending an outrageous bicycle-kick past one of Europe's best 'keepers.
Match: Maccabi Tel-Aviv 3-4 Zenit Sankt Petersburg
The Miracle of Istanbul is oft cited as the high-water mark of comebacks but, let's face it, Liverpool had it pretty easy in the 2005 UEFA Champions League Final. They were level by the hour, and needed extra time and penalties to triumph. If the Reds really wanted a challenge, they should have done it at the home of their opponents, waited until the 77th minute before starting their recovery and then wrapped up the win in regulation time, as Zenit did in Israel on matchday 1.
Performance: Aritz Aduriz (Athletic Bilbao 5-3 Genk)
Francesco Totti winding back the clock with a hat-trick of assists against Astra Giurgiu merits commendation, but it is a man 5 years his junior at 35 who gets the nod. Aduriz was unstoppable on matchday 4, a one-man wrecking ball to Genk's beleaguered back line. He ended with 5 goals, a competition record, including 3 spot kicks. Last season he became the oldest ever UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League top scorer; he is well placed to extend that record.
High number: 73,063
The crowd at Old Trafford to watch Manchester United beat Fenerbahce on matchday 3, smashing the group stages record by 6,000. Special mention to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose winner against Zorya Luhansk 3 weeks earlier made him only the third player to score for 7 different teams in UEFA club competition. The others: Adrian Mutu and John Carew.
Low number: 10,69
The number of seconds we had to wait for the first goal of the UEFA Europa League season. Slovan Liberec's Jan Sykora got it, despite the fact that it was Azerbaijani hosts Qarabag who kicked off. It shaved a cool two and a half seconds off the competition record for quickest goal. Remarkably, the Czech side struck inside the opening minute again next time out, too, at home to PAOK. His side didn't win either game.
Last edited by beavis; 10-12-2016 at 16:16.
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Skomina to referee Europa League Final
The UEFA Referees Committee has announced that Slovenian official Damir Skomina will referee the 2017 UEFA Europa League Final between Ajax and Manchester United on 24 May.
Skomina, 40-year-old, has been an international referee since 2003. He was part of the EURO 2016 refereeing team, overseeing 4 games including Iceland's last 16 win against England and the quarter-finals between Wales and Belgium.
This season Skomina officiated at 6 Champions League matches, including the quarter-finals second leg between AS Monaco and Borussia Dortmund.
He has taken charge of 6 semi-finals in the Champions League or Europa League over the past 5 campaigns, but this will be his first Final.
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Last edited by beavis; 06-08-2017 at 17:09.
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