Key events
70 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Welbeck’s chipped cross is headed over from eight yards by Van Hecke, a pretty decent chance in the circumstances. Brighton will be so frustrated at the way it unravelled last week; even a 3-0 defeat wouldn’t have been the end of the world, especially with no away goals rule.
68 min: Aston Villa 2-0 Ajax (agg: 2-0) Ramaj redeems his own error by blocking Diaby’s shot from a tight angle. Even without Watkins, Villa have been superb in transition.
GOAL! Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 Qarabag (agg: 3-4; Frimpong 72) Now then.
RED CARD! Aston Villa 2-0 Ajax (agg: 2-0)
That’s surely it for Ajax, who are down to ten men. Sivert Mannsverk gets a second yellow card for pulling back Jhon Duran, who was running beyond the defence for the umpteenth time.
The latest scores
The three involving English teams look done. Ajax have played okay at Villa Park, having an even share of the ball, but Villa have had much the better chances. And though Brighton had hope at half-time, Roma have played with greater composure and control in the second half.
Europa League
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Atalanta 2-1 Sporting CP (agg: 3-2)
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Bayer Leverkusen 0-2 Qarabag (agg: 2-4)
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Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4)
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Liverpool 6-1 Sparta Prague (agg: 11-2)
Europa Conference League
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Aston Villa 2-0 Ajax (agg: 2-0)
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Club Brugge 2-0 Molde (agg: 3-2)
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Lille 1-1 Sturm Graz (agg: 4-1)
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Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-4 Olympiacos (agg: 5-5)
62 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Mile Svilar makes a point-blank save from Adingra’s header. At first it looked like a great save. But, while Svilar did superbly, Adingra should really have scored.
GOAL! Bayer Leverkusen 0-2 Qarabag (agg: 2-4; Juninho 67)
Moments after having a man sent off, Qarabag double their lead in Leverkusen!
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-0 Ajax (Bailey 60; agg: 2-0)
A superb goal from Leon Bailey has put Villa on the cusp of the quarter-finals! After Ajax lost the ball in their own third, Bailey received a pass from Douglas Luiz 17 yards from goal. He dizzied Hato with a series of stepovers, moved the ball to the right and sidefooted it into the far corner. Lovely goal.
Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0) Villa create another good chance in transition. Moreno’s precise cross is met by Duran, whose first-time shot is superrbly blocked by the outrushing Ramaj. He then takes Duran out in his follow through, so Villa want a penalty. They don’t get it.
57 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Estupinan’s cross is headed wide by the off balance Adingra. Brighton are having a decent spell, sparked by the introduction of Ansu Fati.
56 min: Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0) Jhon Duran misses a great chance on the break, slicing wide when through on the keeper, although I think he’d been penalised for a foul on Josip Sutalo.
GOAL! Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 Qarabag (Zoubir 58; agg: 2-3) Blimey. The runaway Bundesliga leaders, who came from 2-0 down to draw the first leg in Azerbaijan, are again behind in the tie.
53 min: Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0) There’s a bit of nervousness at Villa Park. Brobbey runs onto a long ball and is eased over by Diego Carlos on the edge of the area. He thinks it’s a free-kick; the referee does not concur.
51 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Roma have started the second half well, keeping the home team quiet by keeping the ball. It will literally never go out of fashion.
GOAL! Liverpool 6-1 Sparta Prague (Gakpo 55: agg: 11-2)
Cody Gakpo is on a hat-trick! He has just scored a classy second goal, reacting smartly to flick the substitute Harvey Elliott’s long-range shot – which I think was going off target – past the keeper.
GOAL! Liverpool 5-1 Sparta Prague (Szoboszlai 48: agg: 10-2)
They’ve scored even earlier than in the first half. Dominik Szoboszlai receives a pass from Mo Salah and pings a deflected shot past Peter Vindahl.
Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Before Welbeck’s goal, while we were watching Liverpool and Villa, Roma’s Sardar Azmoun had a brilliant overhead kick disallowed for a high boot. I’ve just seen a replay and it looks a really harsh decision.
Half-time: Liverpool 4-1 Sparta Prague (agg: 9-2)
The tie was over before kick-off. Just for laughs, Liverpool scored four times in the first 14 minutes – including a first senior goal for the highly promising Bobby Clark. He’s got something about him, that lad.
Half-time reading
Here’s Barney on the old club v country debate.
Half-time scores
Interesting times in Serbia, where Olympiacos – who lost 4-1 at home to Maccabi Tel Aviv last week – are now level on aggregate.
Europa League
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Atalanta 0-1 Sporting CP (agg: 1-2)
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Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Qarabag (agg: 2-2)
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Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4)
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Liverpool 4-1 Sparta Prague (agg: 9-2)
Europa Conference League
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Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0)
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Club Brugge 1-0 Molde (agg: 2-2)
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Lille 1-1 Sturm Graz (agg: 4-1)
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Maccabi Tel Aviv 0-3 Olympiacos (agg: 4-4)
Half time: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4)
Danny Welbeck’s beautiful goal has given Brighton an outside chance of a miracle. It was a tempestuous half of football, with yellow cards galore – including both managers – and at least one VAR check for a potential red.
Half time: Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0)
Brian Brobbey’s shot is cleared off the line by Matty Cash on the stroke of half-time. That was Ajax’s best chance of a half in which they had an even share of the ball without workign Emi Martinez. Villa were more threatening, usually in transition, and Ollie Watkins headed them in front before going off with a knee injury.
45+2 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Cristante, who has already been booked, kicks out at Gross (I think) off the ball. The referee can’t have seen it because that was unquestionably worthy of a second yellow card. Ifab really need to close that VAR loophole and use it for second yellows.
45 min : Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0) McGinn has a shot blocked after losing two players with a nice dummy on the edge of the area, then Rogers curls over from the edge of the D. Villa have been much the more dangerous team.
43 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Estupinan, who was booked a few minutes ago, brings down Baldanzi on the halfway line with a clumsy challenge. Roma appeal unsuccessfully for a second yellow card. But the mood at the Amex Stadium is such that it’ll be reasonably astonishing it somebody doesn’t walk tonight.
GOAL! Liverpool 4-1 Sparta Prague (Birmancevic 42, agg: 9-2)
Has Jurgen Klopp taken Liverpool as far as he can?
40 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Mancini goes down holding his face after the slightest touch from Van Hecke, a laughable overreaction. Roberto De Zerbi has been booked for kicking off on the touchline; apparently Daniele De Rossi was given a yellow card earlier.
39 min: Brighton 1-0 Roma (agg: 1-4) Roma are really putting themselves about, and it’s starting to get a bit moody. If you watched the last five minutes without knowing the aggregate score, you’d think it was 2-1 rather than 4-1.
GOAL! Brighton 1-0 Roma (Welbeck 37; agg: 1-4)
Hello. Danny Welbeck has served Brighton a snifter of hope with a marvellous goal, curled extravagantly into the far corner from the edge of the area. Roberto De Zerbi bounces down the touchline, imploring the home fans to make more noise.
Latest scores
Europa League
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Atalanta 0-1 Sporting CP (agg: 1-2)
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Bayer Leverkusen 0-0 Qarabag (agg: 2-2)
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Brighton 0-0 Roma (agg: 0-4)
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Liverpool 4-0 Sparta Prague (agg: 9-1)
Europa Conference League
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Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0)
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Club Brugge 0-0 Molde (agg: 1-2)
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Lille 0-0 Sturm Graz (agg: 3-0)
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Maccabi Tel Aviv 0-2 Olympiacos (agg: 4-3)
34 min: Brighton 0-0 Roma (agg: 0-4) I’ve switched over from Liverpool to this game for a bit, because there’s 0.00001 per cent more jeopardy in this one. Brighton are having lots of the ball but there have been no shots on target at either end.
31 min: Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0) Jhon Duran replaces the goalscorer Ollie Watkins, who walks freely enough down the tunnel. Villa play at West Ham on Sunday, then there’s the two-week international break.
30 min: Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (agg: 1-0) Hmm, it looks like Watkins needs to come off. He has just made the universal signal for a substitution to the bench, and if it’s a knee injury there’s no point exacerbating it.
Europa Conference
Viktoria Plzen have beaten Servette 3-1 on penalties after their 0-0 aggregate draw. Servette missed three of the four penalties, but Jeremy Guillemenot let trivia fans down by scoring his kick.
That Diaby shot led to a corner, which led to the goal. It was swung out towards the near post, where the unmarked Watkins guided an excellent header across goal and into the far corner. A quietly classy finish from a quietly classy player.
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Ajax (Watkins 25; agg 1-0)
Ollie Watkins appears to be fit enough to continue.
24 min: Aston Villa 0-0 Ajax (agg: 0-0) Rogers’ through ball looks to heavy for Diaby, but hte gets to it a fraction before the keeper Ramaj. He’s forced wide, too wide, and Ramaj does well to get back and block his eventual shot.
23 min: Aston Villa 0-0 Ajax (agg: 0-0) Possession is 50/50, which means both teams have exactly four and a half tenths of the law.
22 min: Aston Villa 0-0 Ajax (agg: 0-0) A better attack from Villa, with Bailey curving a few yards wide from Diaby’s cutback.
Match report: Rangers 0-1 Benfica (agg: 2-3)
A weary Rangers side were eliminated from the Europa League by Benfica. Read all about it.
