The first leg of the Europa League knockout round continued in the early morning of February 16, Beijing time, AC Milan fought on two fronts in the first half of the season, with a poor record, and after the Champions League group stage, the team's form improved significantly. Now that the knockout rounds of the Europa League are here again, how should Pioli deal with them? Will Roma and Feyenoord have met again this season after three consecutive European knockout rounds and meet again this season?
AC Milan are getting better after the Champions League group stage
AC Milan vs Rennes - who is in better form?
When Milan advanced to the Europa League knockout round, the fans' mood was very complicated, from the strength of the group opponents, the fans could accept the third, but when they saw Dortmund, who was closest to their strength, won the first place in the group, Roseneri's heart would be a little unwilling, after all, even the most powerful Paris had won, but lost to Dortmund at home, although it cannot be said that it was a gutter overturn, but it must not have a normal level of performance.
Stefano Pioli's Milan have often had their ups and downs in the second half of the league, but this season seems to be the opposite, Milan have had their ups and downs in the first half of the season, and have made steady progress in 2024, with five wins and one draw in the league, far behind leaders Inter Milan, but at least they have kept up with Juventus. Currently fourth in Serie A, Atalanta also have a very good record in Serie A in 2024, but they have not narrowed the gap behind Milan in the slightest, allowing Milan to play in Europe at full strength.
Milan is experiencing a warm winter
Rennes played very consistently in the Europa League group stage, and being beaten by the 2021 champions Villarreal was purely a gap in strength, but fortunately, Rennes did not give the other two teams a chance and killed them separately. Although they failed to finish first in the group, Rennes were the team with the most goals and goal difference in the group, and they also managed to save some face.
After entering 2024, Rennes is also in very good form, not only winning five consecutive victories in Ligue 1, being promoted from a relegation team to a strong team competing for European qualification, but also advancing to the quarterfinals of the French Cup, which can be said to be in better form than AC Milan. Milan's ups and downs in the first half of the season were largely related to the two-front battle, and now that the European competition has started again, will Milan's form be up and down?
Rennes are riding high in Ligue 1 and the French Cup
Rennes may be in better form, but Milan are stronger and have home advantage, and the game is expected to be 2-2.
Feyenoord vs Roma - European meeting for the third year in a row
Last season's Eredivisie champions Feyenoord qualified directly for the Champions League group stage this season and did show their style in the group stage, with the respect of Roma-based rivals Lazio who can beat them, and the Blues can beat Bayern Munich.
However, Feyenoord were not superior to any of their group opponents, and they had to fight hard in every game to finally fail to grab more points than Lazio. With the exception of Atletico Madrid, who topped the group, Feyenoord had a dominant head-to-head record against their opponents in the other two groups, but failed to qualify, which is also a relatively rare situation.
Feyenoord beat Lazio in the Champions League
Last season's Europa League runners-up Roma finished second with 13 points from the group stage, but Czech side Slavia Prague played better and had to compete with the third-placed team in the Champions League for a place in the quarter-finals. Last weekend against leaders Inter Milan in Serie A, Roma's new coach De Rossi finally suffered his first defeat, the opponent is obviously stronger, Roma should be convinced to lose, I believe this defeat will not make the players and fans trust De Rossi less.
Roma failed to finish top of the Europa League group
Since the previous season's UEFA Europa League final, the two teams have met in the knockout stages of European competition for three consecutive seasons, with Roma eventually beating their opponents, but the process has been difficult to match. At present, both sides have a heavy league task, and this game will definitely be affected, and it is expected to be 1-1.