Europa League games of the 2022/23 season: Which is your favourite?
Friday, June 2, 2023
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Man United, Barcelona, Arsenal and finalists Sevilla and Roma are among the teams to feature but what was the best match of the season?
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There have been goals, thrills and spills aplenty as the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League delivered the goods once again. UEFA.com selects ten games that have had us particularly gripped. Which match do you think was the pick of the bunch?
Ferencváros 3-2 Trabzonspor (08/09/2022, Group H)
Tokmac Nguen gave the Hungarian side an early lead, but Eldar Ćivić's dismissal then left Ferencváros a man light with almost three-quarters of the contest remaining. However, Adama Traoré and Nguen scored either side of a Maxi Gómez effort to put the hosts 3-1 ahead before half-time, rendering Umut Bozok's second-half strike a mere consolation.
Must-see moment: Umut Bozok's volley from Maxi Gómez's flick to set up a tense finish.
Omonoia 2-3 Man United (06/10/2022, Group E)
Karim Ansarifard applied the finish to a flowing first-half counterattack to stun Erik ten Hag's side in Nicosia, but second-half substitutes Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial put the visitors 2-1 ahead, the latter scoring only two minutes after his introduction. Rashford's close-range finish from a Cristiano Ronaldo cross was followed quickly by a Nikolas Panagiotou effort, but United held on.
Must-see moment: Ansarifard's early strike sent the home fans wild.
Union Saint-Gilloise 3-3 Braga (13/10/2022, Group D)
Vítinha's first-half hat-trick for Braga was not enough to earn the Portuguese club all three points in Leuven. Victor Boniface cancelled out the 22-year-old's opener in the first half, before Dante Vanzeir made it 3-2 four minutes after the interval. Boniface's second completed the fightback as Union SG maintained their three-point lead at the top of the group.
Must-see moment: Boniface's second-half header from Loïc Lapoussin's superb delivery.
Fenerbahçe 3-3 Rennes (27/10/2022, Group B)
Rennes raced into a 3-0 lead in Istanbul with 30 minutes on the clock thanks to Amine Gouiri's double either side of a Martin Terrier effort. Enner Valencia pulled one back before the interval but it remained 3-1 until the 82nd minute, when Miha Zajc's free-kick further reduced the arrears. Emre Mor then struck with two minutes remaining to keep Fenerbahçe top going into Matchday 6.
Must-see moment: Zajc's sweetly struck free-kick that brought Fener back within one goal.
AEK Larnaca 3-3 Dynamo Kyiv (27/10/2022, Group B)
Group B's other Matchday 5 encounter was no less eventful, Dynamo also scoring two late goals to hold already-eliminated Larnaca. Vladyslav Vanat made it 1-1 after Omri Altman's stunning finish had put the hosts ahead, but Rafael Lopes and Altman's second gave the Cypriot outfit a two-goal cushion with 18 minutes left. Denys Garmash restored hope for their Ukrainian visitors, and the midfielder scored again two minutes into added time to earn Dynamo their only point.
Must-see moment: Altman's acrobatic opener was a thing of beauty.
Man United 2-1 Barcelona, 4-3 agg (23/02/23, knockout round play-off second leg)
Two titans usually more at home in the UEFA Champions League clashed in this knockout round play-off tie. After an entertaining first leg ended 2-2 in Barcelona, the Catalan giants took the lead in the return in front of a buoyant Old Trafford through a Robert Lewandowski penalty. However, Fred equalised after half-time before Antony's crisp strike sent Ten Hag's Red Devils through.
Must-see moment: Antony's half-volley for the game's decisive moment was coolness personified.
Union Berlin 3-3 Union Saint-Gilloise (09/03/23, round of 16 first leg)
Having met twice in the group stage, the first leg of the round of 16 'reUnion' was unpredictable. Union SG took the lead three times through two Boniface goals and a Yorbe Vertessen strike, but the German Union fought back every time, first through Josip Juranović and Robin Knoche and then with a late Sven Michel equaliser. The Belgian Union eventually progressed to the quarter-finals after winning the second leg 3-0 in Belgium.
Must-see moment: Juranović's outstanding curling free-kick gave Union SG goalkeeper Anthony Moris no chance.
Arsenal 1-1 Sporting CP aet, 3-3 agg, 3-5 pens (16/3/23, round of 16 second leg)
With the Lisbon leg having ended 2-2, Arsenal may have felt confident of progressing when Granit Xhaka's powerful 19th-minute strike edged them ahead in the tie. However, they were stunned in the second half by an ultra-long-range Pedro Gonçalves effort that sailed over Aaron Ramsdale's head into the net and never quite recovered. It eventually went to penalties, and Antonio Adán was the hero as he saved from Gabriel Martinelli to seal victory.
Must-see moment: Pedro Gonçalves' goal: a truly outrageous moment of genius.
Roma 4-1 Feyenoord aet, 4-2 agg (20/04/23, quarter-final second leg)
After losing the first leg 1-0, José Mourinho's Roma needed to summon all the winning mentality they showed when triumphing against Feyenoord in last season's Conference League final. Goals from Leonardo Spinazzola and Paulo Dybala either side of Igor Paixão's strike for Feyenoord took the game to extra time, where Roma finally got the job done thanks to Stephan El Shaarawy and Lorenzo Pellegrini.
Must-see moment: Dybala's delicate turn under pressure before firing in to take the match to extra time.
Sevilla 3-0 Man United, 5-2 agg (20/04/23, quarter-final second leg)
Buoyant in the Premier League, Man United looked like the favourites for this tie, but while Sevilla had an up-and-down season in the Liga, the six-time winners remain a menace in this competition, After two late own goals had rescued a 2-2 draw in Manchester, the Andalusians were rampant at home as two goals from Youssef En-Nesyri either side of a Loïc Badé header sent them through to yet another semi-final.
Must-see moment: En-Nesyri's superb composure to score from way outside the box after he was presented the ball by United goalkeeper David de Gea.