The UEFA Europa League has returned to the football schedule across Europe and it has already produced a number of top matches.
First Two Matchday Results Of The Europa League
Group A: BSC Young Boys 1-2 AS Roma, CSKA Sofia 0-2 FC Cluj, AS Roma 0-0 CSKA Sofia, FC Cluj 1-1 BSC Young Boys
Group B: Dundalk 1-2 Molde, Rapid Wien 1-2 Arsenal, Molde 1-0 Rapid Wien, Arsenal 3-0 Dundalk
Group C: Bayer Leverkusen 6-2 Nice, Hapoel Be’er Sheva 3-1 Slavia Prague, Slavia Prague 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen, Nice 1-0 Hapoel Be’er Sheva
Group D: Standard Liege 0-2 Rangers, Lech Poznan 2-4 Benfica, Benfica 3-0 Standard Liege, Rangers 1-0 Lech Poznań
Group E: PSV Eindhoven 1-2 Granada, PAOK 1-1 AC Omonia, AC Omonia 1-2 PSV Eindhoven, Granada 0-0 PAOK
Group F: Napoli 0-1 AZ Alkmaar, Rijeka 0-1 Real Sociedad, AZ Alkmaar 4-1 Rijeka, Real Sociedad 0-1 Napoli
Group G: Braga 3-0 AEK Athens, Leicester City 3-0 Zorya, Zorya 1-2 Braga, AEK Athens 1-2 Leicester City
Group H: Sparta Praha 1-4 LOSC Lille, Celtic 1-3 AC Milan, AC Milan 3-0 Sparta Praha, LOSC Lille 2-2 Celtic
Group I: Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0 Qarabag, Villarreal 5-3 Sivasspor, Qarabag 1-3 Villarreal, Sivasspor 1-2 Maccabi Tel Aviv
Group J: Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 LASK, Ludogorets 1-2 Antwerp, LASK 4-3 Ludogorets, Antwerp 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Group K: Dinamo Zagreb 0-0 Feyenoord, Wolfsberger 1-1 CSKA Moscow, CSKA Moscow 0-0 Dinamo Zagreb, Feyenoord 1-4 Wolfsberger
Group L: Slovan Liberec 1-0 Gent, Hoffenheim 2-0 Crvena Zvezda, Crvena Zvezda 5-1 Slovan Liberec, Gent 1-4 Hoffenheim
Top Performers Of The Europa League So Far
Villarreal’s Paco Alcácer has perhaps been the standout player of the european football competition in the first two matchdays so far. The Spanish forward has been nothing but lethal in front of goal as he leads the charts of the Europa League 2020/2021 with four goals from his first two matches. To make things even more impressive, the striker has only managed a total of 36 minutes in this year’s UEFA Europa League, as well.
Wolfsberger’s Michael Liendl footballer sits level with him at the top as he also has four goals for the Austria Bundesliga football team in the UEL 20/21, although the likes of Pizzi (Benfica), Mohamed Elyounoussi (Celtic), Elvis Manu (Ludogorets), Darwin Núñez (Benfica) and Yusuf Yazici (LOSC Lille) are close to them as they each have three.
Unsurprisingly given Alcácer’s performances for the Yellow Submarine, Villarreal have scored the most goals in the Europa League 20/21 with eight; just one more than SL Benfica. Bayer Leverkusen, though, have scored the most goals in one game of the UEL as they managed to put six past Nice in Matchday 1.
Impressively, there are 11 football teams who all currently have a 100% record so far in the UEFA Europa League competition. These are Arsenal, Molde, Rangers, Benfica, AZ Alkmaar, Leicester City, AC Milan, Villarreal, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Antwerp and Hoffenheim.
Antwerp, though, perhaps have had the most impressive tournament in the first two matchdays as they managed to record an impressive 1-0 victory over a top Tottenham Hotspur side with a result that nobody would have anticipated.
Predictions For The Next Round Of The Europa League 20/21
Naturally, there are still a number of games to come in the UEFA Europa League and Matchday 3 promises to be another exciting round of fixtures.
One of the most compelling football matches of the Europa League to take place on Thursday will see Benfica vs Rangers. Both football teams have been rather clinical going forward, whilst the Scottish football giants are also yet to concede a goal. There is no doubt that both teams will be feeling confident of their chances heading into the contest, however it would be no surprise if both teams managed to cancel each other out with an entertaining score-draw. A 2-2 draw could be a safe bet.
Other Europa League clash to look forward to include SC Braga’s trip to Leicester City as both teams look to extend their 100% records at the other’s expense. It would be wise to see the English Premier League side continue this record with a 2-1 win but both teams have matched each other when they have come up against AEK Athens and Zorya in regards to both results and score lines.
AC Milan have become somewhat resurgent this Europa League season and have been performing rather well, both domestically and on the continent. LOSC Lille have also been impressive performers for a number of years in European competition, thus this football game has all the ingredients to produce a classic. Nonetheless, Il Rossoneri’s displays of late should see them over the line in this one with a 2-1 victory.
