Europa League Matchday 5 Awards: Benteke, Roncaglia, Milik, Napoli
The UEFA Europa League group stage is drawing toward its conclusion, with a slew of sides securing passage to the round of 32 on Thursday after another action-packed slate of games.
Fifty-two goals were scored, as the likes of Arkadiusz Milik, Christian Benteke, Harry Kane and Michy Batshuayi all found the back of the net, while there were also surprising results to chew over, with Borussia Dortmund losing to Krasnodar and Monaco falling to Anderlecht at home.
Here, B/R hands out awards for the best of Matchday 5.
The Jekyll and Hyde: Christian Benteke, Liverpool
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Christian Benteke gave us the best of both worlds on Thursday: He reminded us of his remarkable talent, taking a firm Nathaniel Clyne cross down cleanly and smashing it home from 18 yards, but also of his frustrating qualities—the poor off-the-ball movement and bad runs that spoil counter-attacks.
He actually had the ball in the net three times, but two were ruled out—one for offside, as he moved a second early in latching on to Jordon Ibe’s excellent through ball, and one for tripping the defender over in the process of making room for a finish.
He's still quite a long way away from winning the Anfield crowd over as it stands, and little mistakes like these that ruin moves infuriate the fans further.
Big Balls for Big Calls Award: Referee Alon Yefet
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There were some big, big calls made in Liverpool’s win over Bordeaux on Thursday—calls that required big balls to make.
Referee Alon Yefet awarded the rarest of decisions: the indirect free-kick due to a goalkeeper holding onto the ball in his area too long. He was spot on, of course; Simon Mignolet had hold of it for over 20 seconds before releasing it, but often keepers breach the six-second rule and get away with it.
Yefet also correctly awarded a penalty that many wouldn't have given and disallowed a goal by Benteke after he'd foul his marker on the run.
A firm, strong and accurate night for the man in black.
Sharpest Elbow Award: Facundo Roncaglia, Fiorentina
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Facundo Roncaglia was shown a red card in Fiorentina's 2-2 draw with Basel on Thursday night. According to Opta, it's his fifth since joining the club despite only arriving in 2012.
If that's not alarming enough, the nature of his latest sending off should: A swift elbow to the face of Breel Embolo—who was verging on overtaking him for pace on a swift counter—left the young Swiss striker writhing in agony and left the referee with a rather easy decision.
Acrobatic Intervention Award: Arkadiusz Milik, Ajax
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Ajax's last-gasp 2-1 victory over Celtic ruined the Scottish outfit's chances of progressing to the latter stages, with goals from Milik and Vaclav Cerny sealing their fate.
It was the first of the visitors' goals that caught the eye, with a melee in the box—heavily involving Viktor Fischer, who was practically throwing every available limb at the ball in an effort to force it over the line—resulting in a stray ball being acrobatically swept over with the left foot by Ajax's Polish forward.
He bagged an assist for Cerny's winner, completing an impressive individual evening.
The Unstoppable Award: Napoli
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Napoli have trounced all in their path in the UEFA Europa League, blitzing Group D and securing five wins from five. Even better, they've been superb in Serie A play, too, refusing to let a bloated schedule wreck their season.
They're nine points clear of second place in their group and secured the top spot weeks ago. Their latest win, a 1-0 result away to Club Brugge, was achieved without key men Lorenzo Insigne and Gonzalo Higuain. Maurizio Sarri is utilising his deep squad and reaping the rewards across the board.
