By Eden Roitfarb and Yossi Medina
The Europa Conference League group stage is almost over, with only one match left before the knockout rounds begin. Who survived matchday five and what can we take away from the penultimate week?
Perfect no more
Villarreal’s perfect campaign was ruined by Hapoel Be’er Sheva tonight in Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.
The Yellow Submarine continues to play their home games away from the El Madrigal, which is being renovated, and the guests from southern Israel took advantage of that, and the fact Villarreal had already qualified, to gain a valuable 2-2 draw in their quest for second place.
Not the best start for Quique Setien as manager, but Elyaniv Barda can be very proud of his side’s fight and character.
Be’er Sheva will host Austria Vienna in the final matchday, with BabaGol coverage from the stadium, and will be hoping that Villarreal beat Lech Poznan in Poland.
West Ham take it seriously
West Ham is the only team left to have won all their group stage matches this season.
It’s not only the 1-0 win against Silkeborg, David Moyes is using his best players in every match, unlike others, and West Ham are clearly aiming to make their mark this year.
When the tournament was founded, there were some doubts about how seriously the bigger teams would take it. After Roma and Feyenoord last season, and just like Villarreal, West Ham are showing that’s just not the case.
🇦🇷 @ManuLanzini back on the scoresheet ⚽️ pic.twitter.com/bwaVRleFEr
— West Ham United (@WestHam) October 27, 2022
Two European giants share the disappointment
Anderlecht and FCSB have a combined four European trophies, and countless domestic titles, and both can see themselves as legitimate contenders for a deep run in the competition this year.
But expectations aside, they have both performed poorly this season, and tonight they saw out a 2-2 draw that helps neither of them.
The Romanians are now eliminated, while Anderlecht lost an opportunity to leapfrog Silkeborg ahead of their clash in Denmark in the next matchday. They will now need to win that match to progress further.
Fiorentina win the battle, but lose the war
Coming into this week, Fiorentina and Istanbul Basaksehir were battling it out for first place.
The Viola, regaining their confidence in recent games, needed to beat the Turkish side by three goals or more to take control of first spot.
Luka Jovic gave them hope with a brace, but it ended only 2-1.
With both sides facing weaker opponents next, in Hearts and RFS, it’s hard to see a dramatic change in the standings next week - but we will enjoy seeing both in the knockout stages.
🟣 𝗕𝗜𝗚 win for Fiorentina as they secure a top-two finish in Group A 👏@acffiorentina | #UECL pic.twitter.com/KVkurq6tcn
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) October 27, 2022
No one can stop Djugardens
A few minutes before half time, Djugardens were 2-0 down against Molde.
The Swedes are one of the best clubs in the Conference League this season, and they didn’t give up.
In a tremendous comeback, Djugardens won 3-2, with a winning goal from Haris Radetinac in the 77th minute.
This confirmed their place at the top of their group, becoming the first Swedish team to reach the round of 16 in any European competition since Helsingborg in the 1996-97 edition of the UEFA Cup.
🇸🇪 Djurgården = Group F winners 🥳
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) October 28, 2022
📸: @DIF_Fotboll | #UECL pic.twitter.com/E4Tk1rzBdN
Group H is shaking
Group H demonstrated to us last night that there are no big names in this tournament.
FC Basel led 2-0 after 18 minutes against Zalgiris, but eventually conceded two and ended with a 2-2 draw.
Pyunik led 1-0 away against Slovan Bratislava, but also lost their lead, with a 2-1 win for the Slovaks.
The last matchday will be a race for the top two spots in the group. Slovan Bratislava is leading with eight points, while Zalgiris is bottom with five.
Anything could happen.
Edited by Alex Smith
🫶😜😍 #FCBasel1893 #MirSinBasel #UECL #FCBFKZ #rotblaulive pic.twitter.com/5VyEuSaOc3
— FC Basel 1893 (@FCBasel1893) October 27, 2022
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