Yesterday the group stage of Europa League started, therefore it is the perfect time to give my thoughts. 126 teams have played and now there are only 26 teams in the group stage.

Group A

SK Slavia Praha
Villareal FC
FC Astana
Maccabi Tel Aviv

SK Slavia Praha defeated Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-0, Villareal pulled off a statement victory over Astana 3-1. Slavia Praha and Villareal will advance to the next round.

Group B

Dynamo Kyiv
Young Boys
FK Partizan
KF Skenderbeu

Dynamo Kyiv was inspired playing at home and won big 3-1 against Skenderbeu, The Young Boys tied Partizan at one. The two teams that will advance are Dynamo Kyiv and Young Boys.

Group C

SC Braga
Istanbul Basaksehir
Ludogorets
Hoffenheim

SC Braga defeated Hoffenheim 2-1 in the opening contest, Istanbul Basaksehir and Ludogorets battled to a goalless draw. Group C is up for grabs SC Braga and Ludogorets will advance to the next round.

Group D

AC Milan
AEK Athens
Austria Wien
Rijeka

AC Milan destroyed Austria Wien 5-1 as a result, it put themselves in the driver seat to advance the next round. AEK Athens got a massive win away as they defeated Rijeka 2-1.

Group E

Atalanta
Apollon Limassol
Lyon
Everton

Atalanta shocked the world when they defeated Everton 3-0 and Lyon managed to draw Apollon 1-1. Despite the fact that Everton lost to Atalanta they will bounce back to advance along with Atalanta.

Group F

Kobenhavn
Lokomotiv Moskva
FC Sheriff
FC Zlin

Group F is difficult to predict because the first two games of this group finished in a goalless draw. Kobenhavn and
Lokomotiv Moskva will advance.

Group G

FCSB
Hapoel Beer Sheva
FC Lugano
FC Victoria Plzen

FCSB defeated Viktoria Plzen 3-0 and Hapoel Beer Sheva FC have continued to build on their momentum. FCSB and
Hapoel Beer Sheva will both advance to the next round.

Group H

Arsenal
FC Bate
FK Crvena Zvezda
FC Koln

Arsenal took care of business at home against FC Koln at home with a 3-1 victory. Bate fought against Crvena Zvezda as it ended in a 1-1 draw. Arsenal and Bate will advance to the next round.

Group I

Olympique de Marseille
FC Salzburg
Vitoria SC
Konyaspor

In Group I Marseille opened up with a victory over Konyaspor 1-0 FC Salzburg against Vitoria SC ended in a draw at 1.
Marseille and FC Salzburg will advance to the next round.

Group J

Ostersunds FK
Athletic Club
Hertha BSC Berlin
FC Zorya Luhansk

Ostersunds defeated Zorya 2-0 and Athletic Club Hertha and BSC Berlin ended in a goalless draw. The two teams that will advance is Ostersunds and Athletic Club.

Group K

Nice
Lazio
SV Zulte Waregem
Vitesse

Nice destroyed Zulte Waregem 5-1 and Lazio beat Zulte Waregem 3-2. The following two teams Nice and Lazio will advance.

Group L

FC Zenit
Real Sociedad
FK Vadar
Rosenborg BK

The opening matches in Group L were complete blowouts. Real Sociedad defeated Rosenborg 4-0 followed by Zenit as they smashed Vardar 5-0.

Conclusion

Over the last of couple of years, this tournament has developed credibility as a difficult tournament to win. It will be interesting to see which teams will advance.

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