The Sky Sports Football writers analyze the Europa League and Conference League campaign on Thursday as all four British clubs continue to quarter-final tires.
Big Night for Amorim when the Season of Man Utd lives
Ruben Amorim called it the complete week, one in which Manchester United offered a glimpse of the future with their stadium plans and a little hope for the present, as the players on the field showed that a European trophy is a possibility this season.
The United Head Coach saw his team produce one of their best performances of the season in beating Real Sociedad 4-1 in Old Trafford, with large versions of Bruno Fernandes and Patrick Dorgu, while Joshua Zirkzee and Casemiro also had an impression.
Dorgu's display, forward from Wing-Back, suggested that the first step in the direction of reforming this team is positive, while Amorim also emphasized that the improvement in others reflects its own greater concept of how to implement.
“I am improving the way I should use a player as Casemiro,” he explained. “I am not really trying to press Casemiro. I think you can feel that our team is more connected, even defensively. That can help a lot of Casemiro because he is so smart.”
He added: “It's all together. The team is better, the players can play better, I understand the characteristics of the players better. So everything combined can help us.” Optimism then that these most difficult seasons can have a trophy at the end.
The importance of this can hardly be overestimated and not just because Champions League football would transform the finances. Continue on the path to Bilbao means that there is a momentum for these coming weeks and months. The United season is alive.
The mix of young people and experience wins for traces
For the first time since October, Ange Postecoglou was able to start his 'leadership group'. The quartet of Cristian Romero, James Maddison, Guglielmo Vicario and Heung-Min Son all started as part of a strong line-up of Spurs. It was with these four that Spurs would catalyze their comeback.
Son was involved in the first when his high press on Wouter is forced a mistake at the back while a traces for the foot took the lead. Maddison, score of the second, would also drive his team the field for the third, starting with an impressive team goal that was completed by Wilson Odobert for his second goal of the night.
Odobert, the 20-year summer signing from Burnley, opened his Spurs account one night in which Lucas Bergvall, 18, put the mistakes of his own goal of the first legs straight with a controlled presence deep in the midfield, was withdrawn in the second half to a standing ovation, with those who are present to be present.
Postecoglou had what he would feel, very close to his strongest side and it paid off. The mix of youth and experience has given Spurs fans at least something to look forward to. William Bitibiri
Europa League progression keeps Rangers' season alive.
With a backlog of 16 points in the title race without hope for Domestic silverware this season, but Europa League will remain Rangers' Happy Place on Thursday.
Jack Butland turned out to be their hero when they defeated Fenerbahce on penalties to set up a quarter -final draw with Athletic Bilbao.
They were brilliant in Istanbul, but again struggled in front of the Ibrox -when they first fell into the history of the club in the history of the club.
It is an undesirable record that they do not want, but the fans are probably not too worried about the outcome and their progression until the last eight.
Barry Ferguson wanted the players to rock Ibrox and decorated a gigantic banner with the badges of the sides that already conquered this season and the words 'in the eyes of a Rangers -Storm'.
The crowd stayed with them and they received their reward. Why Rangers can do in Europe what they cannot stay in their own country.
Chelsea cannot continue to rely on improvements in the second half
Chelsea has done light work on their conference campaign, but received a timely memory against Copenhagen that their standards cannot fall.
The worrying first half performance in which they had not seen a shot would have been punished by a better side. It will do little to illuminate the concerns of their supporters about the style of Enzo Maresca in the midst of their fragmentary form, stuck by recent victories over Leicester and Southampton.
Maresca has used his team smart to navigate in this game and they earned it to go through the two legs in this draw. Cup football is about winning and they have won.
However, during the rest of the second stage Cole Palmer and Marc Cucurella they had to call to make sure they would reach the quarterfinals.
Maresca insists that it was all part of the plan to make the required tactical changes to spend them. It is a risky approach that could find them too much in the future. David Richardson
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