LIVERPOOL HAVE WORK TO DO, FULHAM STILL IN THE PICTURE

 

 

Well this is the first season that the Europa League as we now know it has been in operation. Before then it was known as the UEFA Cup. The last British team to reach the semi finals of that competition were Rangers with the SPL side drawing 0-0 on aggregate, after extra time with Fiorentina before beating them on penalties. The last Premiership team to reach the semi finals of the competition was actually Middlesborough, back when Steve McLaren was their gaffer. It was off the back of performances like beating Steauea Bucherest 4-3 on aggregate after looking buried that McLaren was given the England manager's job...but let's not go there.

This season, the latter stages of Europe's less significant competition have become more important to Premiership fans. Our representatives in the Champions League have been wiped out. The first of those to fall were Liverpool but unlike MUFC in '06 - at least they held on to the parachute into the Europa League, immediately becoming one of the favourites to win that competition. Sure enough, they've proven pretty solid. They're biggest problem though was getting to a Europa League semi final 1st leg match against Athletico Madrid at the Vicente Calderon Stadium with British airspace still shut down post-volcano. Still they made it, but the Scousers weren't expecting things to be easy.

They certainly weren't easy. Athletico were on the front foot from the start and in the 9th minute Jose Manuel Jurado crossed to Diego Forlan and while the rejuvenated ex-United assasin made a mess of it initially, it wasn't hard for him to hit the net. Liverpool quickly seemed to equalise but they found themselves caught offside. That certainly wasn't their last chance to score before half time, though they found themselvs coming up empty. Athletico weren't done either but couldn't hit the net for a second time. Not an ideal situation for the Premiership side but it was still anyone's game and anyone's tie. Rafa Benitez wouldn't have been freaking out just yet.

Atletico tried to start the second half the same way they started the 1st but didn't quite do enough. Still the Scousers were dodging more bullets before the hour mark, it looked as though the tie could easilly be over before the night was over. Yet the Premiership side held on despite the battering their goal was taking, Jamie Carragher deserving his share of credit for helping keep the La Liga side out. The Scousers never looked like equalising though. Still, all is not lost if you're a Pool fan. Athletico have the edge going into the 2nd leg but how many European ties have been turned around after a 1-0 win in the home leg. Still anyone's tie.

Liverpool are not the only Premiership team left in European competition though. Roy Hodgson was a big name on the other side of the Channel before he really had any credibility here. During his time as Fulham manager that has changed, he's not only taken Fulham into a serious European competition(well I don't think the old Anglo-Italian Cup counts as serious) for the first time in the club's history but his guys have gone on to mug some of the biggest names in the competition. Yet still they needed a coach to get to their Europa League semi final 1st leg match against Hamburg at the Hamburg Arena. Fulham would have been ready for anything though.

Well it wasn't long before another ex-United assain(and this time a more succsessful one) Ruud van Nistelrooy got his first chance for Hamburg but failed to make it count. The Bundesliga side were certainly running the show early on though - Fulham really didn't look like even getting out of their half all that often. Still, the Premiership side managed to hold out and that would have left Hamburg fans dissapointed. Credit to Fulham for soaking up the opposition at least. The match remained goalless at half time and though the Fulham performance was anything but classy, it also wasn't anything for their small group of traveling fans to complain about.

Hamburg went on to continue their battering of the Fulham goal early in the second half yet again they found the Fulham defence getting in the way. Eventually Fulham forced the home side to dodge a bullet when Zoltan Gera got a free run at goal and could have had a penalty later on. It was going to take more than that to shut Hamburg up but it was also going to take more than what the home side could come up with that night to get through a stubborn Fulham defence. As always, the home team for the 1st leg needs to win these two legged ties. Instead, Fulham have been given a blank sheet of paper for the match at Craven Cottage and that may be all they need to continue their legendary journey.

Going up a level, well of course the Champions League semi finals were also taking place. Inter beat Barcelona 3-1 at the San Siro with the Serie A side somehow managing to have the number of the team that was meant to be the best club side in Europe right now - Barca have their work cut out. Bayern Munich beat Lyon 1-0 at the Allianz Arena in an ugly affair that finished ten a side, the Bundesliga side managing to get a late winner against sleepy seeming opposition - anything can still happen in the 2nd leg though. That puts us on course for a Inter vs Bayern final at the Bernabau and if Jose Mourniho's team can see off Barca then chances are they can deal with Bayern as well.

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