UEFA European finals
Europa League Final – Dublin – 22/05/24 – Atalanta BC vs Bayer Leverkusen
The first of the 3 UEFA finals was staged at the Aviva Stadium in the capital of Ireland, Dublin. Atalanta would be taking on Bayern Leverkusen in the highly anticipated match. Atalanta had beaten Sporting Lisbon, Liverpool, and Marseille on route to Dublin. Bayer Leverkusen had taken down Qarabag, West Ham United, and Roma. Bayer were also 2 games away from an unbeaten season and treble, already winning the Bundesliga with just the Europa League Final and the DFB Pokal final to go.
1st Half
After a promising start for the Italian side, they found their all important opener in the 12th minute. Davide Zappacosta received the ball down the right wing and cut it back into the Leverkusen penalty area. It rolled through a crowd of people before Ademola Lookman smashed the ball into the top corner with the inside of his right boot. Bayer manager Xabi Alonso would have been furious with Exequiel Palacios as he was slow to track the run of Lookman, letting him get in behind. The Nerazzurri were then blessed with a 2-0 advantage before the half hour mark when Lookman scored his brace. Leverkusen gave it away yet again after goalkeeper Matej Kover played a long ball to Amine Adli. Adli passed it back via his head to Florian Writz but it was too powerful for him to control and Lookman had time and space outside the German team’s penalty area. He dribbled around Granit Xhaka with ease and wrapped his foot around the ball beautifully, watching it roll across the side netting and find the back of the net. The half finished 2-0 with the Italian side dominating but the game was not over yet. Xabi Alonso’s side are the kings of comebacks, scoring 22 goals in stoppage time alone this season.
2nd Half
The German side started to find their way in the second period creating chances but failing to convert. In the end it just wasn’t Xabi Alonso and the rest of Leverkusen’s day as Lookman went on to complete his hat trick with just a quarter of an hour to play. Ex-West Ham man, Gianluca Scamacca, received it in the middle of the park and spread it out wide to the Nigerian. He completed a few stepovers before cutting the ball onto his left foot inside the penalty area. Lookman then lashed the ball into the far corner, winning the final for Gian Piero Gasperini and his players. The experienced Italian team held out for the rest of the game with it all finishing 3-0 and Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten season finally coming to an end. The Nerazzurri become the first ever Italian side to hoist the new and improved Europa League trophy in the air. It’s also a day to remember for head coach Gasperini, winning his first ever major trophy as a manager, at the ripe old age of 66. Leverkusen will have to get over their loss quickly as they have their cup final this weekend against Kaiserslautern with the opportunity to complete a domestic double. The 2nd of the 3 finals will be played next Wednesday with Olympiacos taking on Fiorentina in the UEFA Conference League. 3 days afterwards, Real Madrid will take on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, hopefully resulting in another exciting fixture.
UEFA Conference League Final – Athens – 29/05/24 – Olympiacos Piraeus vs ACF Fiorentina
The 2nd of the 3 UEFA finals was staged in the capital of Greece with Olympiacos taking on Fiorentina. The Greek club was in search of a first ever European trophy, and also footballing history with no Greek club ever going on to win a major international trophy. Fiorentina will want to redeem themselves after they lost last year’s Conference League final in the 90th minute to West Ham when Jarrod Bowen broke through to give the Hammer’s their first trophy in 43 years. On route to Athens, Olyimpiacos have taken out Ferencvarosi, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Fenerbahce, and Aston Villa. They dropped down to the Conference League after placing 3rd in their Europa League group, failing to better West Ham United and Freiburg. The Gigliati have beaten Maccabi Haifa, Viktoria Plzen, and Club Brugge on their way to the final.
1st Half
The Greek giants came so close to opening the scoring inside 5 minutes when Wolves loanee, Daniel Podence, saw his shot from outside the area saved by keeper, Pietro Terracciano. Fiorentina then thought they had taken the lead when Cristiano Biragi’s cross seemed as though it had creeped all the way into the bottom corner. The assistant’s flag was raised straight away as Nikola Milenkovic got a touch on the way and he was in an offside position. It was fair to say the rest of the first half was in the balance but neither side could find the back of the net. The first 45 minutes finished 0-0 with a huge second half to come.
2nd Half
The first major chance of the second period came for the Gigliati in the 68th minute. Dodo managed to poke the ball out to Christian Kouame who was in space on the opposite side of the penalty area. The ball bobbled towards Kouame who didn’t quite catch it right, but he still forced a quality stop from Greek keeper, Konstantinos Tzolakis. It was then the Erythroleykoi’s turn to attack. A free kick that came in from the right wing was headed towards goal by Francisco Ortega, but his effort just glanced wide of the far post. That was the last notable action of normal time as the two sides headed into extra time.
1st Half of Extra Time
The Greek side dominated the first 15 minutes of additional time, the biggest chance was when substitute Stevan Jovetic saw his effort from outside the area palmed away by Terracciano.
2nd Half of Extra Time
Fiorentina then turned to goal in the opening minutes of the second half of extra time when substitute Jonathan Ikone watched his volleyed effort from 12 yards out parried away by Tzolakis. Finally, in the 116th minute, there was a breakthrough. Alfred Duncan received the ball down the left wing and looked up. He played a brilliant cross into the box for star man Ayoub El Kaabi to get on the end of. The Moroccan let it bounce and threw himself at the ball, getting in front of the defender and heading the Greek side ahead. After a lengthy VAR check, the goal was given and the Greek fans were able to celebrate the historic goal. The Italian side had just one more chance before the final whistle when Ikone saw his shot from inside the penalty area heroically blocked by defender David Carmo. That was the last chance of the game as Olymipiacos became history makers as the first Greek team to win a major European trophy, holding out for a 0-1 win after 120 minutes of dramatic football. It is heartbreak for Vincenzo Italiano and his men, now losing two consecutive Conference League finals to a last minute goal. Italiano is still without a major trophy to his name and will have to get his team fired up for the competition next season as Fiorentina finished 8th in the Serie A, qualifying for the competition for the 3rd time in a row. Attention now turns to Wembley as Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid prepare for their Champions League final tie in 3 days time.
Champions League Final – London – 1/06/24 – Borussia Dortmund vs Real Madrid
After much anticipation and debate, it was finally time for the Champions League final, the match everyone wanted to see. Would it be Borussia Dortmund’s day and a fairytale ending for Marco Reus or would it be a 15th title for the Galacticos and a spectacular send off for Madrid legend Toni Kroos? The German side had made it to London by beating PSV Eeindhoven, Atletico Madrid, and PSG. Real Madrid had knocked out RB Leipzig, 2023 winners Manchester City, and Bayern Munich. Everything was set for a brilliant grand finale in the capital of England.
1st Half
Dortmund started positively, attacking Real Madrid and attempting to catch them out with a long ball over the top. Julian Brandt missed a huge chance in the 14th minute after he received the cut-back from Niclas Fullkrug inside the area. The German midfielder took a touch but was off balance as his effort just bounced wide of the far corner. The German side found a way through the Madrid defence again in the 20th minute when Mats Hummels ball travelled all the way through to Karim Adeyemi. The young German was left one-on-one with Belgian shot stopper Thibaut Courtois. The keeper did just enough to halt Adeyemi, coming out to force him to his left, giving enough time for defensive cover to come back and make a challenge. 2 minutes later, Dortmund then created another huge chance when Ian Maatsen played a ball through the Madrid defence to Fullkrug who was inside the penalty area. The pass was slightly heavy which forced the German centre forward to jump and lunge his whole body at the ball. He was very unlucky in the end, watching his prodded effort hit the inside of the post and bounce back into play. The German Giants dominated the rest of the half with Courtois forced into multiple saves. The half finished 0-0 with the 14 time Champions looking rattled and lucky not to be down by a goal or 2 at the interval.
2nd Half
Carlo Ancelotti’s half-time speech must have worked because the Galacticos were a different side in the second 45 minutes. Toni Kroos had a spectacular free kick saved by Swiss keeper Gergor Kobel 4 minutes into the second period. Attention then turned to Dortmund as Fullkrug had another chance. Adeyemi crossed the ball in from the left wing which was met by a bullet header from the German. There was not much else Fullkrug could do as he watched his powerful effort palmed away by Courtois. After soaking up all of Dortmund’s pressure, Madrid found the opener in the 74th minute through Dani Carvajal. The Spaniard jumped high to head home Toni Kroos’ corner, with the Spanish Giants only 15 minutes away from a 15th Champions League. Ex Dortmund player, Jude Bellingham, then had a massive chance to secure the trophy for his current employers, but was unlucky as he watched his shot from point blank range blocked by centre back Nico Schlotterbeck. Real Madrid then had multiple opportunities to win the tie saved by Kobel with Kroos having his free kick saved, Eduardo Camavinga’s shot from outside the area palmed away, and Nacho’s headed touched over the bar by the Swiss shot stopper. Finally in the 81st minute, the Spanish side found their 2nd. Maatsen was careless in the Dortmund defence and played a sloppy pass to Bellingham. The Englishman passed the ball to Vinicius Junior who placed the ball around Kobel to all but secure the win. Dortmund thought they had reduced the deficit in the 86th minute when Fullkrug put the ball into the back of the Madrid net. Unfortunately for the German side, when Donyell Malen’s cross came in, Fullkrug was in an illegal position. Madrid held out for the 2-0 win, claiming a famous victory to take their Champions League tally to a whopping 15. It is heartbreak for Dortmund with many fans around the world hoping that they could win in a heartwarming send off for Marco Reus.
It is still a journey to be proud of for the German club as nobody would have predicted them to go as deep into the competition as they did. Edin Terzic and his team have qualified for the competition next season and they will be motivated to play hard again after the success of their 23/24 campaign. Real Madrid will only get stronger with some big money moves rumoured over the summer window. The biggest is obviously Kylian Mbappe who looks set to be announced in the coming days.
Next season will see a different format to what we are used to. Instead of 32 teams, it will be 36 and instead of 8 groups, it will be a league table. Each club gets drawn 8 games, (4 home, 4 away), and 1st-8th in the table will advance to the round of 16. 9th-24th will play off in the last 32 with there now being no stepping down to the Europa League. If a team loses their round of 32 game or finishes 25th-36th, they are out. Whatever way you look at it, it is sure to be a campaign to look forward to with more games and more teams, resulting in double the action and double the drama.
Written By Ollie Wade