GREAT EURO COMEBACKS

ASTON VILLA will have to achieve a rare feat in European football if they are to reach the final of the Europa Conference League.

But Unai Emery knows all about that. Only three times in UEFA’s current trio of competitions has a team lost a first leg at home by two or more goals – and has then gone on to progress to the next round.

Emery was involved in one of them while the most recent example features Villa’s semi-final opponents and happened this season. Olympiakos v Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Europa Conference League, 2024

Olympiakos looked to be heading out of the competition in March after a 4-1 first-leg hammering by Maccabi Tel-Aviv in their own Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis. Even UEFA’s website summary said “Maccabi take full control of tie” after Eran Zahavi’s brace and goals for Ido Shahar and Dor Peretz. Ayoub El Kaabi’s goal gave Olympiacos something to cling to and the switching of the return leg to Serbia, triggered by the conflict on the Gaza Strip, negated Maccabi’s home advantage. El Kaabi scored twice more, with Daniel Podence and Kostas Fortounis also on target as a 4-1 win forced extra-time – when substitutes Stevan Jovetic and Youssef El-Arabi completed a 6-1 scoreline, a 7-5 aggregate and a stunning turnaround.

Manchester Utd v Paris St-Germain, Champions League, 2019

Goals from Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe at Old Trafford had PSG on course for the quarter-finals, especially after United’s France midfielder Paul Pogba was sent off in the closing stages and suspended for the trip to his homeland. Romelu Lukaku had other ideas, scoring twice in the first half-hour to sandwich Juan Bernat’s goal for PSG and keep United in the tie. After Kimpembe was penalised for handball, Marcus Rashford stepped up in the fourth minute of stoppage time to beat Gianluigi Buffon from the penalty spot and send United through on away goals (Lukaku and Rashford celebrate, above).

Sevilla v Real Betis, Europa League, 2014

En route to the first of three straight Europa League titles, Emery’s Sevilla trailed their local rivals 2-0 after first-leg goals from Leo Baptistao and Salva Sevilla.

Sevilla’s short return trip to the Estadio Benito Villamarin brought a 2-0 win of their own, with Jose Reyes and Carlos Bacca on target, before Alfred N’Diaye and Nono missed for Betis in the penalty shoot-out.

Wins over Porto, Valencia and Benfica, in another shoot-out in the final, marked the start of Emery’s love affair with the competition.