Europa League round of 16: Celta scrape a win, Roma lose to Lyon

Here are the results:

APOEL 0-1 Andelecht

FC Kobenhavn 2-1 Ajax

FC Rostov 1-1 Manchester United

Celta 2-1 Krasnodar

Gent 2-5 Genk

Lyon 4-2 Roma

Olympiacos 1-1 Besiktas

Schalke 1-1 Gladbach

Genk should be well on their way to the quarters after beating fellow Belgian squad Gent, for whom Jeremy Perbet missed a penalty, sadly.

The other ties are all quite open (though surely Rostov will fold in Old Trafford, I’d think). Celta got a last-minute goal from Claudio Beauvue, recovered finally from his Achilles injury. Lyon came back from 1-2 down to win at home against Roma, but the Italians will have to feel pretty good about two away goals. Only APOEL were shut out, but only need a goal in Belgium to square the tie and force extra time.

It does feel a little strange to be watching this from the outside, and especially since this group of clubs just doesn’t have the cachet last year’s did. But hey, they got here. And whoever wins the Lyon-Roma tie probably has to be favorites, along with Manchester United. Of course the way the draw has been going, they’ ll probably be drawn against each other!!