Europa Conference League: Gameweek 3 Review

Jose Mourinho raging after his players' humiliating 6-1 defeat in Norway last time out

Gameweek 3 of the Europa Conference League saw twists and turns aplenty, setting up a range of intriguing possibilities as the group stage hit the halfway mark.

Group A
Group A is now sadly a settled affair. Only four points separate HJK in third place from LASK in second, but the ten-goal gap in goal difference tells its own story. Alashkert’s only realistic chance of points now seems to be their game in Helsinki in gameweek 5, while HJK will have to raise their game from their 5-0 home thrashing by Maccabi Tel-Aviv if their slim hopes of progression aren’t to be extinguished. The only intriguing clash left is Maccabi’s home game against LASK, also in gameweek 5, which should determine the group winner.

Group B
Anorthosis Famagusta dominated at home to Flora Tallinn last time out, but had to settle for a 2-2 draw. That result will likely have soothed any small worries of elimination in Partizan Belgrade’s camp, although their 1-0 loss at home to Gent (who are get to concede a goal in the group stages) has in all likelihood ensured that the Belgians will finish top of the pile.

Group C
I thought that Norwegian entertainers Bodø/Glimt had a slim chance of pulling off an upset against Italian giants Roma. I thought a point was plausible and a win not entirely impossible. I did not expect Jose Mourinho’s Giallorossi to be thrashed 6-1, a result which ranks as possibly the most surreal I’ve watched live since Germany’s 7-1 win over Brazil in 2014 and is certainly a better underdog story. That win also blew Group C wide open, with the Norwegians now leading Roma by a point. Zorya Luhansk, meanwhile, are still in with a slight chance of qualifying after a 1-0 win over CSKA Sofia that was punishingly dull for the first hour and then enthralling for the last half an hour.

Group D
Dutch side AZ are sitting pretty at the top of the standings in Group D after a tight but ultimately routine 1-0 win at CFR Cluj. More intriguing is the chase for second place between Jablonec and Randers; the Czechs went ahead twice only for Randers to equalise in kind, a 2-2 draw which sets up a tense clash in Denmark.

Group E
Group E is also comfortably topped by a Dutch outfit, as Feyenoord look well-placed to advance. Their 3-1 humbling of Union Berlin, and Maccabi Haifa’s unlikely but resilient 1-0 win over Slavia Prague, has nevertheless set in motion a three-way chase for second place that looks well-set to go down to the wire.

Group F
København goalkeeper Kamil Grabara’s ill-judged red card set up the Danish side for a shock 2-1 defeat at home to PAOK which leaves Group F among the most open in the competition at the halfway stage. København, PAOK and Slovan Bratislava could all conceivably top the group, although the three finishing in that respective order still seems the most likely outcome. Gibraltarian outfit Lincoln Red Imps, debutants in the group stages of European competition, have been valiant but are unlikely to exert much influence on proceedings.

Group G
Oh, Tottenham. A much-changed side slumped to defeat away to Vitesse last time out, deepening the impression that this competition was not among Nuno Espirito Santo’s top priorities. Spurs find themselves third after a win over Slovenian minnows Mura and a draw away to Rennes, but could nevertheless still top the group. Mura are, like the Red Imps, way adrift in fourth place.

Group H
The last of the Conference League’s groups is much like its first; Basel recovered from their near-humiliation at home to Kazakh champions Kairat to calmly dispose of Omonia Nicosia last time out, while Qarabağ also toiled at home to Kairat but nevertheless got the win they needed. Basel and Qarabağ are each six points ahead of Kairat and Omonia, meaning that barring some remarkable upsets the next – and only – remaining game in Group H with much riding on it is Qarabağ’s trip to Switzerland in the final gameweek.

By Horace Goodwill

My name is Horace Goodwill, follower of the Conference League, opponent of "field tilt", and loyal devotee of the true metric, "goals scored". Fan of a twice-relegated Schalke. Fan of Unai Emery's Sexual Clarets and ex-fan of a sportswashed Newcastle. And I will have my vengeance, on this blog or the next.