A fortnight ago, several surprising results materialised from the first round of group stage games in this season’s Europa League.
Specifically four of the competition’s highest profile and top seeded teams were unable to win their opening match.
Whilst Atletico Bilbao, Internazionale and Manchester United all lost to sit bottom of their respective groups, Fiorentina were held to a goalless draw by PAOK Saloniki.
As such the four top seeded teams now face crucial second group stage fixtures, as the outcome of those will partially shape their prospects of reaching the knock-out stages.
Each of the assignments that the quartet have been set to enhance those prospects vary in difficulty. That is the case since whereas Bilbao, Fiorentina and Manchester United are to play home games Inter will face Sparta Prague in the Czech Republic.
Internazionale travel to Prague
Whereas Inter suffered a 2-0 home defeat in their opening group stage game against Hapoel Be’er Sheva, Zdenek Scasny’s team were also comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Southampton.
All but one member, the Zimbabwean defender Costa Nhamoinseu, of Scasny’s squad is Czech, with Tomas Rosicky having returned to the club, where his career began in 1999, after being released by Arsenal.
In contrast to the wealth of home based players available to Scasny, for his team’s Europa League encounter with Sparta Prague, Frank De Boer is able to select from 14 different nationalities, as the Dutchman aims to mastermind a maiden win in European competition as Inter manager.
Whilst I Nerazzuri have recovered well from the disappointment of losing to Hapoal Be’er Sheva by embarking upon a three-game unbeaten run in three Serie A, Sparta lost their most recent league game 2-0 at home to their fierce city rivals Slavia, in a game which bared similar hallmarks to the one that they played against Southampton.
As such although the current form of Inter and Sparta is markedly different, both teams share a need to inject some impetus and momentum into their Europa League campaigns.
Bilbao wounded due to Sassuolo defeat
So too do Atletico Bilbao, as Ernesto Valverde’s side lost their opening game of the competition 3-0 to Sassuolo, for whom Pol Lirola scored a wonderful solo goal at the Stadio Cittadel Tricolore.
Since that humbling defeat however, Bilbao have won three successive La Liga games, to climb to fifth position in the top flight of Spanish football, just two point behind leaders Real Madrid.
Subsequently Bilbao have responded positively to being dismantled by Sassuolo and will now aim to replicate one of their fine recent domestic performances against Rapid Vienna, so as enhance their prospects of building a prosperous Europa League campaign, similar to the one they staged last season, when they reached the quarter finals.
Influential in powering that progression was Aritz Aduriz, as the 35-year-old striker scored 10 goals in 13 Europa League appearances, along with Raul Garcia and Aymeric Laporte, whilst the trio remain key players for Bilbao, who on route to the 2011-2012 Europa League final, which they lost 3-0 to Atletico Madrid, beat Manchester United.
Improvement sought of United by Mourinho
The three-times European champions lost their first Europa League game since that tie against Bilbao 1-0 to Feyenoord, as Jose Mourinho’s side began this season’s competition with a lacklustre display in Rotterdam.
A dynamic and vibrant Feyenoord team, who have opened the Eredivise season with seven successive victories under the guidance of Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, displayed far greater desire and drive than United.
They were similarly outfought and outmanoeuvred in their next English Premier League game, which they lost 3-1 to Watford.
However after galvanising United’s players to produce a vastly improved performance to beat Leicester 4-1, as Paul Pogba scored his first goal for the club, Mourinho will aspire to motivate his players to build upon that result, by delivering a similarly accomplished display at home to Zorya Luhansk.
In five matches against the Ukrainian club for two of his former teams Metalurh Donetsk and Shakhtar Donetsk, United’s 27-year-old Armenian midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored four goals. However Armenia’s international captain and all-time record goal scorer with 19, is yet to establish himself as a regular in Mourinho’s side, with the Portuguese preferring to start Juan Mata in Mkhirtaryan’s favoured playmaking role.
Fiorentina to take Azerbaijani test
Just as United lacked the craft and guile to unlock Feyenoord’s defence in their opening Europa League game, Fiorentina’s best efforts to score against PAOK Salonika were in vain. Nevertheless Paulo Sousa’s side remained solid defensively to earn a 0-0 draw, in a relatively ill-tempered affair, which was littered with eight yellow cards.
So far this season in six competitive matches, Fiorentina have scored just five goals, although their defence, marshalled by captain Gonzalo Rodriguez and Romanian goalkeeper Ciprian Tatarusanu, has performed excellently well to help their team keep four clean sheets.
Subsequently they will aspire to ensure a continuation of that against Qarabag of Azerbaijan at their Stadio Artemio Franchi stadium, where Fiorentina have neither been beaten nor conceded a goal this season.
Despite that, only twice this season has Sousa’s side scored at home, with them failing to do so as they drew their last game 0-0 with AC Milan, after Josip Illicic missed a penalty for the first time in his Serie A career.
Whilst remaining key players for Fiorentina, the 28-year-old midfielder and winger Fernando Bernardeschi also played important roles for the club’s as they reached the 2014-2015 Europa League semi-finals before being beaten by Sevilla.
One of Fiorentina’s group stage opponents in that edition of the competition was once again PAOK Salonika. Whilst victorious 1-0 in Greece, then managed by Vicenzo Montella, Fiorentina drew 1-1 with PAOK at home.
Prior to facing the Greeks again on 24 November, Fiorentina will play twice against Slovan Liberec after hosting Qarabag, against whom the Serie A side’s Croatian striker Nikola Kalanic scored twice to inspire his former club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk to a 2-1 win over the Azerbaijani champions during the group stages of the 2014-2015 Europa League.
Top seeded quartet up to the Europa League Challenge
The current edition of the competition is one within which Fiorentina possess the potential to progress far.
Ultimately so too do Atletico Bilbao, Internazionale and Manchester United.
Nevertheless in order to enhance their respective prospects of achieving that, it will be necessary for the quartet to overcome relatively strong, albeit markedly different opposition, in their second group stage games.
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