Plus: Atalanta fight back to beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 in a frantic match; Braga defeat AS Monaco 2-0 thanks to goals from Abel Ruiz and Vitor Oliveira
Thursday 10 March 2022 23:33, UK
Barcelona were held to a 0-0 home draw by Galatasaray in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday as Rangers kept their momentum in the competition going with a 3-0 win over Red Star Belgrade.
Barca troubled Galatasaray with 14 goal attempts against only three from the Turkish side, who were indebted to 23-year-old Spanish goalkeeper Inaki Pena for several fine saves.
Galatasaray also made good chances with winger Kerem Akturkoglu a constant threat to the Barca defence with his pace and range of skills.
In Glasgow, Rangers scored twice in the first 15 minutes against Red Star through James Tavernier and Alfredo Morelos. Leon Balogun added the third in the second half.
Following their shock win over Borussia Dortmund in the last round, Rangers will take a three-goal advantage into the second leg after Red Star forward Aleksandar Katai had two efforts ruled out by VAR and missed a penalty late in the first half.
In Bergamo, Atalanta fought back to beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 in a frantic match. Charles Aranguiz scored an early opener for the German side, but Colombian Luis Muriel set up Ukrainian Ruslan Malinovsky for the equaliser 15 minutes later.
Malinovsky twice provided assists for Muriel to put Atalanta 3-1 ahead before Moussa Diaby pulled one back for Leverkusen.
Braga defeated AS Monaco 2-0 thanks to goals from Abel Ruiz and Vitor Oliveira.
Defending Europa League champions Sevilla, second in La Liga, beat West Ham 1-0 thanks to Munir El Haddadi's second-half goal.
The former Barcelona winger, unmarked at the back post, rifled home a stunning volley from a free-kick to put Sevilla a step closer to the last eight in a competition they have won a record six times.
Sevilla will host the final at their Sanchez Pizjuan stadium on May 18.
Thursday March 17
The Europa League quarter-final draw will take place on Friday, March 18 at 12pm UK time, with the balls being drawn out at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The semi-finals will be drawn at the same time, meaning clubs and fans can plot out their potential route to the Sevilla final.
Leicester have the upper hand against Rennes after the first leg of their Europa Conference League last-16 tie as goals from Marc Albrighton and Kelechi Iheanacho secured a 2-0 win at the King Power Stadium.
Albrighton put the Foxes in front in emphatic style on the half-hour mark, cracking the ball home from Harvey Barnes' tee-up.
Substitute Iheanacho then added a fine stoppage-time finish to secure Brendan Rodgers' side a two-goal lead to take into next Thursday's second leg in France.
Rennes had notable chances but were unable to make the most of them, while Kasper Schmeichel made a good save to keep out a Martin Terrier shot with over 15 minutes to go to.
Elsewhere, Roma take a narrow advantage thanks to Sergio Oliveira's instinctive finish in a 1-0 win at Vitesse Arnhem.
Jose Mourinho's side saw out the second half despite their goalscorer's late dismissal for a second bookable offence.
Arkadiusz Milik scored twice as Marseille defeat Basel 2-1, with Sebastiano Esposito drilling home in the second half to give the visitors hope heading into the second leg.
Ola Solbakken joined Roma striker Tammy Abraham at the top of the Europa Conference League scorers ranking after converting a late penalty to give Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt a 2-1 lead over AZ Alkmaar to take to the Netherlands next week.
There was an eight-goal thriller between PSV Eindhoven and Copenhagen as Eran Zahavi glanced in a late equaliser for the hosts in a 4-4 draw.
Feyenoord won 5-2 away to Partizan Belgrade with Jens Toornstra scoring twice, while Slavia Prague dismantled LASK 4-1 in their home leg and PAOK beat Gent 1-0 thanks to Jasmin Kurtic's free-kick deflecting in off Sven Kums.
Thursday March 17
The Europa League Conference quarter-final draw will take place on Friday, March 18 at 12.30pm UK time, with the balls being drawn out at UEFA's headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland.
The semi-finals will be drawn at the same time, meaning clubs and fans can plot out their potential route to the Tirana final.