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Europa League review: Arsenal, Celtic suffer defeat as Zenit stand up
Chaos reigned in the Europa League overnight as the home representatives were damned to defeat in their respective matches.
Arsenal, despite a confident first leg victory, were left shaking after a poor first half while Celtic were sent crashing out of the competition.
Here’s what Paul Wilkes learnt from Thursday’s infamous Europa League clashes.
AS IT HAPPENED: Arsenal v Östersunds FK
READ MORE: Gunners through despite Emirates shock
Arsenal bewildered by Ostersunds
Ostersunds showed a lot more endeavour than they did in Sweden, but even manager Graham Potter won’t have dreamt about the start at the Emirates. Hosam Aiesh’s attempt took a deflection off Calum Chambers’ toe to give them a goal to startle the home supporters.
It got worse for Arsenal and Chambers when Ostersunds scored another 69 seconds later. Ken Sema showed great skill to shrug off the challenge from Chambers before unleashing a left-footed finish into the corner of David Ospina’s goal.
The comfortable win last Thursday meant that Arsenal naturally rested a number of players ahead of the Carabao Cup Final with Manchester City this weekend. However, they looked completely out of sorts and dumbfounded in the first half.
Immediately after the break, the balance shifted back to the Gunners once again. Ronald Mukiibi completely missed his clearance and Saed Kolasinac took advantage to resume some control for Arsene Wenger’s side.
The set-back didn’t deter Ostersunds and they deserve great credit for their initial response. It led to an open and entertaining final stages of the match.
Danny Welbeck failed to capitalise in the absence of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. He wasn’t the only underperforming star in an Arsenal shirt though and there will be serious questions asked even though they are through to the last 16.
The real Zenit stand up
Roberto Mancini said that it would be a very different Zenit Saint Petersburg in the 2nd leg and he was proved right. The Russian’s were everything that they weren’t in the opening encounter last week and it certainly took Celtic by surprise.
There was just eight minutes gone when former Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic equalled the aggregate score. The right-back was completely unmarked as he headed in a corner from Leandro Paredes.
Mancini’s men doubled their lead when Daler Kurzyaev’s shot from range shocked Celtic goalkeeper Dorus de Vries. The 37-year-old should have been able to keep it out of the net, as Craig Gordon’s knee injury cost Brendan Rodgers for the first time.
Celtic did show an immediate improvement after the break, but they were further behind with an hour gone when Aleksandr Kokorin arrived at the far post to finish a cross from Ivanovic. Mikael Lustig failed to see the forward appear on his blindside and it was systematic of Celtic’s overall performance.
There were far too many defensive errors from Rodgers’ team and it ultimately cost them progression. Celtic had a lack of belief which may have originated from not capitalising more last Thursday when they had the opportunity.
Dortmund have too many options for Atalanta
Atalanta took the game to Borussia Dortmund and there wasn’t much of an initial response from the away side. Brazilian Rafael Toloi scored his first European goal with an easy finish into an empty net after Roman Burki failed to deal with the cross into the near post area.
The goalkeeper continued his poor form this season, when his attempted punch under the challenge from Mattia Caldara somehow flew behind him. Mario Gotze had a goal rightly ruled out for offside with half-an-hour gone on the clock.
Andre Shurrle forced a save from Etrit Berisha, but Dortmund was surprisingly short of creativity and seemed to be limping out of the tournament. However, Peter Stoger was able to call-upon the services of Marco Reus and Alexander Isak.
Atalanta were made to pay for their numerous missed opportunities when another substitute Marcel Schmelzer prodded into the net. It ended Atalanta’s first European campaign in 27 years, although they can be proud of their achievement.
Immobile continues his resurrection
Lazio blew Steau Bucharest away with a 5-1 victory after they had lost the first tie 1-0. Ciro Immobile started his first Europa League game of the season and scored a hat-trick in the process.
The striker had a terrible time in Germany with Borussia Dortmund and then in Spain with Sevilla and appeared to have lost his finishing touch. However, after a loan spell at former club Torino he has been exceptional in the Italian capital with Simone Inzaghi at the helm.
He has 22 goals in as many games in Serie A this term, which is just one short of last season’s impressive total. Bastos and Felipe Anderson were the other scorers for Lazio, with Harlem-Eddy Gnohere grabbing a late consolation for the Romanians.
New De Bruyne shows his quality
Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri described Piotr Zielinski as the new Kevin De Bruyne in his pre-match press conference. The Polish attacker didn’t do the comparison any harm with an impressive performance against RB Leipzig.
Zielinski has made only eight league starts this season, as he has predominately played in Europe. He had scored in the Champions League games with Feyenoord and Shakhtar Donetsk, whilst he played the full 90 minutes against Manchester City at the Etihad.
The midfielder was previously a transfer target of Liverpool and he gave Napoli some hope when he scored in the 32nd minute. Lorenzo Insigne’s strike with four minutes remaining made for a nervy finish, but Ralph Hasenhuttl’s team progressed on away goals.
The Italians had ultimately left themselves too much to do after conceding three away goals in the 1st leg, but they certainly performed better in Germany. Leipzig will grow in confidence from knocking out such a prestigious opponent and certainly reinforced themselves as among the favourites for the tournament.
READ MORE: Mancini: Zenit not Europa League contenders
READ MORE: Europa League Review: Napoli’s comeback in vain, Immobile sends Lazio through
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Salzburg eliminate Real Sociedad
Leipzig weren’t the only Red Bull franchise to get into the next round, as Red Bull Salzburg beat Real Sociedad 2-1. They had drawn 2-2 last week at the Anoeta, but they still will have known the size of the task.
The Austrians have launched the European careers of Liverpool’s Sadio Mane and their summer signing Naby Keita. The club is the perfect environment for youngsters to learn their trade and they now have a decent platform to illustrate their talents.
