The first leg of the round of sixteen in the European Football League witnessed strong competitions, perhaps the most prominent of which was the Italian derby that brought together Bologna and Roma, which ended in a positive 1-1 draw on the floor of the “Dallara” stadium.
Bologna opened the scoring through Federico Bernardeschi in the forty-ninth minute of the match, benefiting from a perfect pass from Roy. However, Roma did not give up, and substitute Lorenzo Pellegrini was able to equalize the score in the seventieth minute, after a decisive pass from Malen, to give his team a valuable draw before the return match in the Italian capital.
In other matches, Aston Villa was able to achieve an important victory outside its home base at the expense of French club Lille, with a single goal scored by Ollie Watkins in the sixty-first minute. Denmark’s Midtjylland also snatched a difficult victory over England’s Nottingham Forest with a late goal scored by Korean Cho Ji-sung in the 80th minute.
In another match, Brazilian star Andric was able to score the equalizer for Lyon in the eighty-seventh minute in their match against Celta Vigo in Spain, ending the match in a positive 1-1 draw, despite the expulsion of Jorja Iglesias from the ranks of the Spanish team. It is noteworthy that this goal is Andrik’s tenth scoring contribution (6 goals and 4 assists) since joining Lyon on loan from Real Madrid last January.
Porto of Portugal also achieved a victory over Stuttgart of Germany with a score of 2-1, while Real Betis of Spain suffered a loss to Panathinaikos of Greece by an unanswered goal. The return matches are scheduled to be held next Thursday, which will determine the teams qualifying for the quarter-finals of the tournament.
