By Eden Roitfarb and Yossi Medina
The last 16 of the Europa Conference League is here, and from now on the mission is clear - reaching the final in Prague.
Here are the best moments from this round of games.
West Ham’s field trip to Cyprus
Trouble in the league? David Moyes’ relationship with the West Ham fans is arguably at an all time low?
No problem, there is a European cup to go and win.
Today West Ham forgot about their domestic troubles, with an easy 2-0 win at AEK Larnaca that all but puts them in the next round.
The many English supporters who made the trip to Cyprus enjoyed some good weather - compared to the trickles of snow back in London - and two good goals from Michail Antonio. The second was a beautiful curler from outside the box.
Nine away games already in 2023 and you continue to follow us over land and sea 🌊
— West Ham United (@WestHam) March 9, 2023
Your incredible support never fails to amaze us ❤️ pic.twitter.com/CYUnGw75DH
Quique Setien’s struggles continue
With Unai Emery at the helm, things look smooth for Villareal.
Four wins from four, an easy route to the knockout stages, and the general feeling of being favorites to win the whole thing.
But Emery left for Aston Villa, and was replaced by Quique Setien who has failed to win the last two group stage games.
Admittedly they were really meaningless, but in his side's first real Conference League test, he was held to a 1-1 draw by Anderlecht.
But whether this is a real reason to worry, we will see next week.
A Nice advantage for the second leg
One of the trickier ties heading into this round was the one between Nice and Sheriff Tiraspol, as both teams are seemingly unpredictable with their performances.
The fact one comes from France and the other from Moldova makes it even more interesting, and today there wasn't much to separate the two.
Regardless Nice managed to get a precious 1-0 win via a fantastic goal from young Ayoub Amraoui - who might have meant to cross the ball, but no one will care.
And they continued their positive run under new manager Didier Digard.
Bonne soirée à tous ceux qui ont le cœur 🔴&⚫️ #FCSOGCN #OGCNice pic.twitter.com/OJK06sgUIA
— OGC Nice (@ogcnice) March 9, 2023
Confident win for Fiorentina
After Lazio failed to defeat AZ on Tuesday, Fiorentina wanted to save some Italian pride in the tournament.
Antonin Barak scored the only goal for I Viola in their home match against Sivasspor.
The Czech player played for Slavia Prague for two years before he left for a career in Serie A in 2017.
Lech Poznan win in the ultimate Conference League duel
There is no match in this round that can describe the Europa Conference League better than the game between Lech Poznan and Djurgardens.
Both are coming from countries that have had no club in the last 16 of any European competition for more than two decades, and both are competing for a spot in the next round.
Lech Poznan took an important step forward, as Antonio Milic and Filip Marchwinski scored.
They are keeping their great home record this season, with eight wins and a single draw in European competitions.
Enjoy that, Lech fans? 🥳@LechPoznan || #UECL pic.twitter.com/u5bSWPMQr7
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) March 9, 2023
The rematch
Basel and Slovan Bratislava faced each other in the group stage, back then Slovan Bratislava managed to win in Switzerland and drew at home.
This time, Basel took the lead twice, but the Slovakians equalised on both occasions.
With a 2-2 draw, and after the first two matches in the group stage, there is no doubt that nothing is predictable for the second leg.
Gent want the quarters
Gent were eliminated last year in the same round, and now they wanted to reach the quarter-finals.
They hosted Istanbul Basaksehir, who wanted to continue their run in the competition.
Stefao Okaka scored first for the Turkish side, before Gift Orban equalized for Gent in the 35th minute
The game ended all tied before the second leg next week.
Edited by Alex Smith
