Lukaku Scores In Roma's tie With Feyenoord, And Loftus-Cheek Leads Milan Over Rennes

 

Gapteks.com - In the first leg of their Europa League round of 16 playoff match on Thursday, AC Milan defeated Rennes 3-0 thanks to two goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek. 

Amidst over 69,000 fans at the San Siro, the ball bounced in off the post and the former Chelsea midfielder headed in the first goal in the 32nd minute.

Three minutes after halftime, he increased the lead by heading in the rebound from close range after a corner, and Rafael Leão completed the scoring for the in control hosts.

Having won the European Cup seven times for Milan, Loftus-Cheek has never taken home the UEFA Cup or the lower-division Europa League. Currently, he has five goals in his past five Milan matches. 

Early in the first half, Romelu Lukaku—who is having a great game right now—got the equalizer to keep Roman and Feyenoord to a 1-1 draw. 

Igor Paixão, a Brazilian winger, gave the home team the lead with a header just before halftime. Following a ball into the box, Lukaku headed in the goal in the 67th minute.

With a record of 21 goals in his past eighteen Europa League outings, Lukaku has scored six goals this season. 

For the third time in the previous three years, the two teams will square off in Europe. In 2022, Roma became victorious in the Europa Conference League final, handing Jose Mourinho yet another historic victory.

Daniele De Rossi, the squad's manager after Mourinho was fired last month, witnessed his debut in Europe. De Rossi was also the captain of Roma. 

In the playoffs, the eight clubs ranked second in the Europa League group stage will face the eight teams ranked third in the Champions League group stage.

February 22 is the scheduled date of the rematches. The eight victors will next play the Europa League group winners, who have already advanced to the round of 16. 

They comprise the Premier League teams Liverpool, West Ham, and Brighton as well as Leverkusen, Atalanta, Villarreal, Rangers, and Slavia Prague. 

Iliman Ndiaye, a replacement for Marseille, scored in the ninetieth minute to give his team a 2-1 lead as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

However, Eguinaldo of Shakhtar Donetsk managed to rescue a 2-2 draw in a thrilling match that was played in Germany.

Before Mykola Matviyenko equalized for the hosts, Marseille striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equaled the tournament record with his 30th career goal in the Europa League. 

In stoppage time, veteran Ángel Di María scored twice from penalties in the second half to help two-time European Cup winners Benfica defeat 10-man Toulouse 2-1 in Lisbon. In Lens, Freiburg held Lens to a scoreless draw.

Mauro Icardi scored a late goal for Galatasaray against Sparta Prague 3-2 in stoppage time with a poor shot from outside the box. Both sides were reduced to ten men. Only minutes after Galatasaray defender Victor Nelsson was sent a red card, Jan Kuchta scored for Sparta to make the score 2-2. Matěj Ryneš, a midfielder for Sparta, was subsequently dismissed for his second yellow card. 

Qarabağ defeated Braga 4-2 in an unexpected fashion with to goals from Abdellah Zoubir and Juninho in the second half. Before halftime, Simon Banza of Braga had cancelled out Marko Janković's opening goal from the spot. 

Sporting Lisbon also triumphed 3-1 at Young Boys on the road.

The European Conference League

In the Europa Conference League's third division, Ajax overcame a downed Bodø/Glimt team in Norway by scoring twice in stoppage time to earn a 2-2 draw at home.

After a foul in the area in the ninetieth minute, Odin Bjørtuft was sent off, and Branco van den Boomen, an Ajax replacement, scored the penalty that followed Then, in the seventh minute of stoppage time, a goal by Steven Berghuis gave the hosts an equalizer. 

At the Bozsik Aréna in Budapest, Hungary, Maccabi Haifa defeated Gent 1-0 due to the Israel-Hamas war. 

Union Saint-Gilloise, the top team in the Belgian division, overcame a two-goal deficit to tie Eintracht Frankfurt 2-2 at home, even though they had a player sent off in the 78th minute. 

In Sturm Graz's 4-1 triumph over a 10-man Slovan Bratislava, Mika Biereth netted the first goal.

Ludogorets held Servette to a score of 0-0, Olympiacos defeated Ferencvaros 1-0 in Sevilla, and Dinamo Zagreb shocked Real Betis with a 1-0 triumph.

The teams that placed third in the Europa League group stage will face the teams that finished second and third in the tournament in the playoffs. Among the eight group winners who have advanced to the round of sixteen are Aston Villa and Fiorentina.