By Yossi Medina and Eden Roitfarb
Every team came in to the second leg of their Europa Conference League play-off ties with a chance to qualify for the next round - but who made it?
Ajax and Bodo Glimt take part in a classic dual
In a few years, this game will probably be seen as one of the best matches in Conference League history.
After a dramatic comeback from 2-0 down to a 2-2 draw in the first leg, Ajax arrived in Norway ready to provide another great game.
The Dutch side were seven minutes away from knocking Bodo Glimt out, but Patrick Berg scored a magnificent goal to push the game into extra time.
Here, Kenneth Taylor would go on to score the winning goal for Ajax.
They haven’t had too many moments of joy this season, and are still recovering from a poor start to their league campaign, but fhe Conference League is providing a little bit of hope.
On the other hand, Bodo Glimt - one of the greatest stories in the tournament two years ago - have now been eliminated in the play-offs for a second season in a row.
A dramatic and positive night in a turbulent season. Ajax’s players celebrate in Norway (Photo courtesy: Ajax Amsterdam official X account)
Israeli dominance away from home
Israeli sides are facing a tough season, as they cannot host any games at home due to the ongoing war.
After Maccabi Tel Aviv already booked their place in the round of 16, Maccabi Haifa wanted to join them.
The Israeli champions played Gent in Belgium. In the first leg, Maccabi were forced to play their home game in Hungary, which they won 1-0.
In the return leg, the Belgian authorities decided that the match would be played behind closed doors - a decision which could have affected the outcome of the game, with Gent missing out on the opportunity to qualify with a 1-1 draw.
It’s now the first time that two Israeli clubs will play in the round of 16 in the same season.
Frankfurt pay price for poor home form
Spanish and German sides have a history of struggling in the Conference League - and this year Eintracht Frankfurt became the latest Bundesliga side to fail to reach the latter stages of the competition.
Hosting Union Saint-Gilloise at home after a 2-2 draw in Belgium, it seemed like a good opportunity for Dino Topmoller’s men to move on to the next round.
But the Germans were surprised by a brave and daring opposition, who beat them 2-1, extending Frankfurt’s winless run - they still haven’t won at home in 2024.
Last season, USG met German opposition six times in the Europa League - Union Berlin twice in the group stage, then again in the play-off round of 16, before being eliminated by Bayer Leverkusen a round later.
It has become a habit for them to travel to their neighboring country and produce quality football.
One of the rising club in European football is reaching another impressive benchmark. Union Saint Gilloise (Photo courtesy: UUnion Saint Gilloise official X account)
Sturm Graz beat neighbors from Bratislava
Speaking of neighbors, Sturm Graz traveled just 265km to face Slovan Bratislava - a very short away trip in European football terms. They won 1-0, to finish off the tie 5-1 on aggregate.
Mika Biereth, the young Arsenal loanee, made it two goals in two games in the competition, to seal tonight’s away win. Interestingly, with this result and the other ones in the play-off round this year, it seems the trend heavily favours teams who dropped down from the Europa League.
These teams won seven of eight ties, with the only exception being Dinamo Zagreb, who beat Betis.
Spanish clubs lose again
For years, the Europa League has been a second home for Sevilla, and other Spanish teams.
But meanwhile, the Conference League is the complete opposite.
Last season, Villarreal was a clear favorite to win the title, but lost in the round of 16.
This year, Osasuna was eliminated in the qualifiers, and now Real Betis has joined the list of unsuccessful Spaniards.
They were eliminated in the Europa League group stage and had to play against Dinamo Zagreb in the knockouts.
The Croatian powerhouse won 1-0 in Spain last week and was looking to keep their lead.
Betis scored first but failed to qualify, as the match ended in a 1-1 draw - another chapter in the book of bad results for Spanish sides.
Effective Molde take their chances
The strong Norwegian European season continues, as Molde leave Poland with a convincing and ruthless 3-0 win over Legia Warsaw.
Just like in the first leg, poor goalkeeping by Kacper Tobiasz proved costly for Legia, as their quest was basically over after 20 minutes.
By that point, they were 2-0 down on the evening, and 5-2 on aggregate.
What makes it even more impressive is the fact Molde hadn’t played a competitive game since mid-December, until the first leg last week.
A disappointing ending for the Poles, but in bigger picture terms they can feel proud of their European campaign this season.
Olympiakos are getting their mojo back
It has been a chaotic season so far for the Greek giants from Piraeus.
Jose Luis Mendilibar is their third coach of the season, being appointed only ten days ago to replace Carlos Carvalhal, who arrived in December and bought ten new players in the January window - including six of his Portuguese counterparts.
They performed poorly in the league, and weren’t competitive enough in the Europa League group stage.
With Mendilibar, they now have three wins from three, including two 1-0 victories over Ferencvaros, which send them through to the round of 16.
It is fair to say no team will fancy meeting them in the next round.
