Europa League 2014/15 Winners and Losers from Quarter-Final First Legs
The UEFA Europa League semi-finals are within sight after eight teams took part in the first legs of the quarter-final round Thursday evening across the continent.
Napoli earned headlines for an impressive 4-1 win at Wolfsburg, while defending champions Sevilla came from behind to defeat Zenit St. Petersburg with a strong second half.
Elsewhere, Club Brugge and Dnipro played out a scoreless draw, and Fiorentina netted a late equaliser to secure a 1-1 result at Dynamo Kiev.
Keep reading for our choices of winners and losers from the quarter-final first legs.
Winner: Rafa Benitez
1 of 5
Napoli manager Rafa Benitez marked his 55th birthday on Thursday. His side gave him the gift of the finest performance of any team among the quarter-final first legs, a 4-1 victory at VfL Wolfsburg.
Gonzalo Higuain put the Partenopei ahead with a controversial 15th-minute opener, a goal that had more than a hint of handball to it. Eight minutes later, Marek Hamsik made it 2-0, slotting in from Higuain's perfect killer pass through the defence.
After the break, Hamsik added his second in the 64th minute, and substitute Manolo Gabbiadini nodded in the fourth 12 minutes later. Nicklas Bendtner scored a late goal for Wolfsburg, but it was little more than consolation for the Bundesliga side, who were well beaten.
"They've deserved every bit of this," tweeted Goal's Kris Voakes. "Magnificent performance. This is the best Napoli have played under Benitez."
In the process of tearing Wolfsburg's defence to shreds all night, Napoli scored four precious away goals, meaning the second leg will almost certainly be a formality next week in Italy. But while Thursday's result might have been surprising, in the light of Wolfsburg's recent scores, it was anything but shocking when considering the full context of Benitez's career.
Over the years, Benitez has developed a reputation as a cup specialist, having famously guided Liverpool to the Champions League crown in 2005. In addition, the Spaniard has also won the FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italia during his long managerial career. Fans of the Europa League/UEFA Cup will remember him lifting the trophy in 2013 with Chelsea, and in 2004 with Valencia.
Another continental title is still a long way off. Even if Napoli defeat Wolfsburg over two legs in the quarter-finals, the Partenopei will have to negotiate two more rounds in the Europa League while attempting to finish strongly in Serie A.
But after Thursday's impressive performance against Wolfsburg, Napoli and Benitez are sitting pretty.
"It was a spectacular performance," Benitez said, per Football Italia. "I’ve said for a long time this squad has quality, character and professionalism, all of which were on show tonight."
Benitez added: "We played against the second best team in the Bundesliga and these players deserve credit. For the performance and result, it was an excellent game, but I don’t know if it was our best of the season."
Loser: Wolfsburg
2 of 5
As well as Napoli played, Wolfsburg must have been disappointed with their performance. The 4-1 defeat was their worst ever home loss in Europe, per UEFA's official website.
Napoli shredded Wolfsburg twice on counter-attacks for their first-half goals, but the third was a direct result of an error, and at times in the second half, the German side simply appeared to have given up.
Striker Bas Dost continued his goal drought, failing to find the net yet again. As OptaFranz noted via Twitter, the Dutchman has gone 743 minutes since last scoring a goal in a competitive match.
Wolfsburg wowed Europe with a 4-1 win of their own in January, humbling Bayern Munich, the Bundesliga's champions-elect. A seven-match unbeaten run before Thursday's meltdown indicated Wolfsburg were in fine form, and it would have been reasonable to expect a home win at the Volkswagen Arena.
Instead, the home side suffered a setback, to say the least. With their Europa League hopes all but finished, Wolfsburg will now have to turn their attention back to the Bundesliga and German Cup.
Currently second in the table, the Wolves can solidify their position on Sunday, when fifth-placed Schalke visit. Ten days later, Dieter Hecking's side will play third-tier Arminia Bielefeld in the DFB-Pokal semi-final. A win in the latter would give Wolfsburg a shot at silverware at the end of the season, which would go some way towards easing the pain of Thursday's ugly loss.
Winner: Unai Emery and Sevilla
3 of 5
Sevilla entered Thursday with a seven-match winning streak in European matches at their Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. That run was in jeopardy after Zenit St. Petersburg took a 1-0 lead into half-time Thursday evening.
But Carlos Bacca (73') and Denis Suarez (87') scored late goals to turn around the match, extend the streak and send the defending champions onto the verge of a place in the semi-finals.
Suarez's goal was particularly impressive. Timing his shot perfectly, the attacking midfielder volleyed deftly from the edge of the box, across the face of the goal and into the bottom corner at the far post. But while Suarez's winning goal was superb, Sevilla coach Unai Emery deserves credit for his handling of the match.
With his side trailing at half-time, Emery introduced Bacca, Suarez and Stephane M'bia ahead of the second 45 minutes. Bacca and Suarez scored goals, and M'bia also put in a valuable performance as Sevilla turned the match around.
According to beIN Sports USA's David Cartlidge, the substitutions won the game for Sevilla.
Loser: Second-Half Leads
4 of 5
This might just as easily go under the winners' column with the title of "late drama." Apart from Napoli's, no lead appeared safe as full time approached Thursday night.
Shortly after Sevilla completed their turnaround with Denis Suarez's 87th-minute goal, Khouma Babacar rescued a point for Fiorentina with a stoppage-time equaliser at Dynamo Kiev.
The latter goal meant Fiorentina will have a slim advantage heading into the second leg. And put together, the two late goals should mean we have interesting second legs to watch next week in three out of the four ties.
Winner: Gonzalo Higuain and Marek Hamsik
5 of 5
Several players stood out for Napoli in the Italian side's demolition of Wolfsburg, but Gonzalo Higuain and Marek Hamsik will deservedly draw extra praise.
Higuain opened the scoring with a top-class finish, albeit after clearly handling the ball in the box, and turned provider for the second with a truly excellent through ball to Hamsik.
The latter added his second goal midway through the second half to cap an outstanding night.
Higuain, for what it's worth, is now the top scorer remaining in the competition this season, with seven goals. Alan (Red Bull Salzburg) and Romelu Lukaku (Everton) share the overall lead with eight, but Higuain could yet move ahead of them both if he maintains this form.
