A week is a long time in politics and it can be a long time in football also.
However, seven days on from the reverse fixtures in this season’s Europa League, the entertainment remained the same and there was again drama until the very end.
Group B is all over even with two matches remaining.
That’s after both the Turks of Fenerbahce and French club Rennes won away from home to end the chances of minnows AEK Larnaca and Dynamo Kiev – a side I remember for knocking out Real Madrid and reaching the Champions League semi-finals in 1999.
Fenerbahce top the group by a solitary goal following a penalty 10 minutes from time from former Premier League man Michy Batshuayi which saw off Larnaca. He had also been on target in their home win against the same opponents a week ago.
Group C is still too close to call and it took a second half equaliser from Andrea Belotti to earn Roma a point against Real Betis whose last-gasp goal sank them in the Italian capital last Thursday.
This time the Italians were able to claim a draw by cancelling out Sergio Canales’ 34th minute opener which was somewhat fortuitous when the strike from distance took a massive deflection off Roger Ibanez to completely wrong-foot ex-Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
There was tension around the equaliser as, at first, the offside flag was up again when Belotti tapped in a ball rolled across by substitute Mady Camara but, after a very long wait, VAR confirmed Camara was level.
Roma manager Jose Mourinho was already celebrating on the bench, as he saw the replay and was far more confident of Camara’s position.
That’s how it ended but Roma have far more to do than Betis who are almost home n’ hosed.
My match of the night was between two sides who are nowhere near the leading teams when it comes to the Europa League betting odds.
Yet for the second time in eight days, they were at the centre of the drama.
Last time out, Gustaf Nilsson netted twice, four minutes from time and in the fourth minute of stoppage time, to earn Union Saint-Gilloise a 2-1 win at Braga.
This time they shared the points in a six-goal thriller.
Vitor Manuel Carvalho Oliveira was the hero with a first half hat-trick which earned the Portuguese visitors a 3-1 interval advantage.
Union Saint-Gilloise are nothing but determined though and fought back, helped by a Victor Boniface double, to earn a 3-3 draw and keep them top of the standings in Group D.
Just like Betis, Spanish compatriots Real Sociedad are in pole position in Group E after maintaining their 100 per cent record and sealing their qualification with two games to spare as Alexander Sorloth, Diego Rico and Robert Navarro scored the goals to see off minnows Sheriff – their cause not helped by the 33rd minute dismissal of Armel Zohouri.
Group F remains delicately poised and there were Europa League highlights in Holland as Danish visitors FC Midtjylland held Feyenoord to a 2-2 draw, a score matched in Italy as the Austrians of Sturm Graz twice came from behind at Lazio.
Defender William Boving was their hero with a second half double, the second equaliser seven minutes from time as he cut inside from the right on the edge of the area and drilled a left-footed shot into the near bottom corner.
Not bad for a teenager who only came on at the break!
All the teams in the group are on five points.
Three goals in the final 19 minutes helped Freiburg to a resounding 4-0 success at Nantes to seal their progress from Group G, while there was an identical score in Group H where Monaco – Champions League semi-finalists as recently as 2017 – were thrashed by the Turks of Trabzonspor.
At Old Trafford, my Sbotop colleague suggested that the Cypriots of Omonia Nicosia could be overwhelmed, yet the performance of stand-in goalkeeper, Nigerian international Francis Uzoho, was so emphatic that even Cristiano Ronaldo was smiling with disbelief as dominant Manchester United were thwarted.
Time and time again he kept out the dominant hosts and, on the rare occasion he was beaten, Brazilian Casemiro struck the crossbar.
Then, in the third minute of stoppage time, substitutes Jordan Sancho and Scott McTominay combined and, after the former twisted and turned in the box and delivered into the danger zone, the Scottish midfielder rifled the ball home firm and low.
It was hard not to feel for the superb Uzoho (a Manchester United fan!) and his team-mates, urged on by passionate fans, and they seemed set to claim the most famous result in their history until United finally made their pressure count.
Back in two weeks for more Thursday night football!
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