On Thursday, Celta Vigo and Real Betis were in action in the second legs of their Europa League Round of 16 ties. The Galicians were in Lyon, while Los Verdiblancos hosted Panathinaikos at La Cartuja.
Celta see off 9-man Lyon to extend dream Europa League run
Lyon 0-2 Celta Vigo (1-3 on aggregate)
Celta Vigo are into the Europa League quarter-finals after an excellent victory over Lyon. They started well, and after Moussa Niakhaté was shown a red card for a high challenge on Javi Rueda, they were allowed to control proceedings in their search for the goal needed to go ahead in the tie.
It came on the hour mark when Rueda, who also netted in the first leg at Balaidos, slotted home from close range, before Ferran Jutgla sealed the victory with a composed finish in stoppage time. It would get even worse for Lyon as Nicolas Tagliafico, who escaped a red card earlier in the match was a dangerous tackle on a Celta player, was sent off for two bookable offences. The Galicians will face Bundesliga side Freiburg in the last eight.
Betis into last eight after overcoming first leg deficit in style
Real Betis 4-0 Panathinaikos (4-1 on aggregate)
Betis are also into the quarter-finals after a convincing victory over Panathinaikos. Aitor Ruibal got the ball rolling on eight minutes to bring the tie level, before Sofyan Amrabat scored a remarkable goal from 35 yards to give Manuel Pellegrini’s side the lead on aggregate.
Ruibal turned provider for Cucho Hernandez to make it 3-0 minutes into the second half, before Ez Abde picked up Antony to complete the scoring just beyond the hour mark – and it means that Braga will be Betis’ opposition in the quarter-finals. That completed a wonderful evening for La Liga clubs in Europe, after Rayo Vallecano also progressed to the last eight in the UEFA Conference League despite losing to Samsunspor at Vallecas.
