Best Europa League Matches of All-Time

Best Europa League Matches of All-Time

Manuel Veth –

Especially in the past decade, supporters in the eastern Europe have had much to cheer about in the continent’s second most prestigious club tournament.

But even on years a club from our part of the world doesn’t make a deep knockout stage run—football betting at online sportsbooks, as countless fans across the continent know—can make any match feel like your hometown club is involved.

Below are four of the region’s best Europa league matches of all-time that supporters (and bettors) will remember forever.

November 7, 1984: Partizan Belgrade 4-0 QPR

The amount of storylines that played out in the second round of the 1984-95 UEFA Cup tie between Partizan Belgrade and Queen’s Park Rangers are more than deserving of its own movie. Despite playing at Arsenal’s Highbury ground, QPR took a commanding 6-2 lead despite being down to 10 men for part of the match.

Decades later, Dragan Mance’s goal for Partizan against QPR remains of the club’s most famous. Image by kicktv

Decades later, Dragan Mance’s goal for Partizan against QPR remains of the club’s most famous. Image by kicktv

But back in Belgrade for the second leg, it took just over an hour for QPR’s massive lead to be rendered meaningless. Amongst the memorable moments in the game was a fifth-minute goal by Dragan Mance that remains one of the most revered in club history. The fourth and decisive (due to the away goals rule) goal came from Zvonko Živković, who just days earlier returned from military service.

March 12, 2008: Zenit St. Petersburg 2-0 Marseille

Although an insanely difficult group draw in the Champions League ended Zenit’s 2008-09 Champions League earlier than supporters would have hoped, it allowed for a subsequent UEFA Cup-winning run that was nothing short of magical. Their dominating performances against Leverkusen and Munich, and of course the final against Rangers, are all memorable in their own right. But the late second-leg comeback against Marseille in the round of 16 might have been the gem of the knockout stage.

After going down three-nil to l’OM in France, a late Andrey Arshavin goal would make all the difference in what was to come. Nearing halftime at Petrovskiy, hopes of advancing to the last eight looked grim until Pavel Pogrebnyak scored in the 39th. Holding the advantage on away goals, Pogrebnyak would score again in the 78th to extend Zenit’s run to the UEFA Cup title.

May 7, 2009: Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Dynamo Kyiv

For the first time, a Ukrainian side was going to the UEFA Cup final. Which side that would be—between Dynamo Kyiv and Shakhtar Donetsk—remained very much up in the air until the 89th minute of their 2008-09 semi-final, second leg match. The first leg, at Kyiv’s ground, ended 1-1. Donetsk’s goal was scored by Fernandinho, foreshadowing the influence Brazillians would have on the outcome of the derby.

The Ukrainian Klasychne was renewed in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup semi-finals. Image by Zimbio.com

The Ukrainian Klasychne was renewed in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup semi-finals. Image by Zimbio.com

Jadson would open the scoring in the second leg, a goal that would be negated shortly after half when Kyiv’s Ismael Bangoura scored one of his own. Things looked destined to go to extra time until Ilsinho weaved through three Dynamo defenders to score the deciding goal just minutes from the death. The dramatic escape led to an equally dramatic win against Werder Bremen in the final, making Shakhtar the first and only Ukrainian club to win the UEFA Cup or Europa League.

March 9, 2015: Ajax 2-1 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk

Just six years later, another Ukrainian club would compete for UEFA Cup/Europa League glory, but it wouldn’t be one of the traditional two powers doing so. Despite having to play many of their home matches more than 400 kilometers away from their ground in Kiev due to the war, Dnipro worked their way to the final where they lost to Sevilla, 2-3.

Dnipro came up with the one goal they needed in Amsterdam to continue their 2014/15 Europa run. Image by UEFA

Dnipro came up with the one goal they needed in Amsterdam to continue their 2014/15 Europa run. Image by UEFA

While their entire knockout stage run was full of dramatic matches and moments, one of the finest came against Dutch champions Ajax in the round of 16. Despite winning the first leg in Kiev, 1-0, Dnipro surrendered a goal in Amsterdam that forced matters to be settled in extra time. There, a hooking shot from Yevhen Konoplyanka put Dnipro back ahead on aggregate, a lead they would hold onto despite a late Ajax goal thanks to the away goal rule.

Manuel Veth is a freelance journalist and a writer for Bundesliga.com. He is also a holder of a Doctorate of Philosophy in History from King’s College London, and his thesis is titled: “Selling the People’s Game: Football’s transition from Communism to Capitalism in the Soviet Union and its Successor States”, which will be available in print soon. Originally from Munich, Manuel has lived in Amsterdam, Kyiv, Moscow, Tbilisi, London, and currently is located in Victoria BC, Canada.  Follow Manuel on Twitter @homosovieticus.

COMMENTS

WORDPRESS: 0
DISQUS: 0