By Samindra Kunti
February 24 – On a historic night for Belgian football, AA Gent, KRC Genk and RSC Anderlecht all progressed from the Europa League’s round of 32. In the round of 16 Manchester United, the biggest team left in the competition, will face Russia’s FC Rostov.
Gent eliminated ten-man Tottenham Hotspur 3-2 on aggregate, following the second leg’s 2-2 draw at Wembley. Harry Kane’s own goal and Dele Alli’s first-half red card were too much to handle for Tottenham as Mauricio Pochettino’s men failed to reach the quarterfinals of the competition for a fourth consecutive campaign.
Tottenham had begun the match positively with an early goal from Christian Eriksen in the 10th minute. His calm finish beat goalkeeper Lovre Kalinic, but Gent scored a crucial away goal with the help of Kane, who, from a corner kick, turned the ball past his own goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.
After Dele Alli’s red card, Tottenham piled on the pressure, resulting in a goal from Victor Wanyama. But in the 82nd minute Gent struck again through substitute Jeremy Perbet, whose deflected shot deceived Lloris.
Perbet’s goal sealed Tottenham’s fate and capped a memorable night for Belgian football, sending three representatives, the most of any country, through to the round of sixteen. Anderlecht secured a dramatic away-goals qualification with a late strike from Isaac Kiese Thelin against Russia’s Zenit St Petersburg, with the tie ending 3-3 on aggregate.
Genk also progressed after a 1-0 victory against Astra Giurgiu from Romania. Alejandro Pozuelo scored the lone goal of the match with a neat free kick in the 67th minute to ensure a 3-2 aggregate score.
The Belgian clubs, however, were not rewarded in Friday’s draw with bumper fixtures. The round of sixteen draw had no seeding or country protection with all 16 balls placed in the same bowl. Gent will meet fellow Belgians Genk. Anderlecht have been paired with Apoel Nicosia.
Manchester United, England’s last representative in the competition, will take on FC Rostov from Russia. In the other stand-out ties of the round, Borussia Monchengladbach and Schalke 04 will play a local derby and Olympique Lyon will encounter AS Roma.
The matches will in principle be played on March 9 and March 16. Solna’s Friends Arena will host the final of the Europa League on May 24. Last year Sevilla trumped Liverpool in the final in Basel, Switzerland.
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