Europa League

161 days since punching their respective tickets to the Europa League Round of 16 (and 322 days since the group stage began), Sevilla and Roma returned to the pitch in Duisburg, Germany, on Thursday in a match that exemplified the strangeness of European football’s return.

This tie was one of two that failed to play a first leg back in March, so a single-leg format at a neutral venue in Germany (where the remainder of the tournament’s matches will be played from the quarterfinals on) was used to determine this one. 

MANCHESTER, England — Former Europa League winner Manchester United booked a quarterfinal spot in the tournament after their second-string side laboured to a 2-1 home win over LASK Linz on Wednesday to seal a 7-1 aggregate rout of the Austrian side.

United's reward is a clash with FC Copenhagen in Cologne on Monday after the Danish side beat Istanbul Basaksehir 3-0 at home earlier on Wednesday to wipe out a 1-0 first-leg deficit.

Ahead of the Champions League and Europa League knockout matches that begin this week, European soccer governing body UEFA has released a document with a list of protocols for the return to competition amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The protocols will also apply to international matches that are scheduled to be played this year.

"Non-respect of such social norms could have serious consequences for the staging of international matches," UEFA said.

Following are the rules teams and officials must adhere to:

UEFA has decided to remove pending yellow cards once the Round of 16 is completed for the 2019-20 season. This applies to both the Champions League and the Europa League.

The decision amends articles in the Regulations of the Europa League and the Champions League where yellow cards had been suspended after the quarterfinals.

Andrej Kramaric fired Hoffenheim into next season's Europa League third qualifying round with a four-goal performance against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. 

1st Hoffenheim player to score 4 in the Bundesliga
1st player to score 4 away to Borussia Dortmund

UEFA has a plan to finish the 2019-20 season by August, including the Champions League and Europa League campaigns, the European soccer governing body's president Aleksander Ceferin has said. 

The majority of European league seasons were suspended in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic but a few leagues have announced plans for a restart in the coming weeks. 

The French and Dutch top-flight campaigns have been cancelled but the German Bundesliga restarted on Saturday and Ceferin expects at least 80% of national leagues to finish their seasons. 

Liverpool loanee Loris Karius wants to cut short his time on loan in Turkey with Besiktas, according to the Liverpool Echo.

According to Erdal Torunogullari, a Besiktas board member, Karius has filed a complaint with FIFA as a result of the club's decision not to pay players during the coronavirus shutdown.

Anfield erupted as Ilkay Gündoğan's free kick flew wide and the final whistle blew. The Liverpool faithful had witnessed some remarkable European nights at their home ground, but perhaps none as exhilarating as this one. 

The Reds had just completed a miraculous turnaround to claim a 4-3 victory over Jürgen Klopp's former team Borussia Dortmund to advance to the Europa League semifinals, 5-4 on aggregate. Before last year's famous Champions League victory over Barcelona, this game had a strong claim as Anfield's greatest European comeback. 

Following days of major sports leagues suspending all play around the world, the Premier League, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 announced the same for health safety in combatting COVID-19. 

Shortly after an emergency meeting, EPL officials announced Friday play will resume on April 4 (April 2 for Bundesliga) at the earliest should health and safety standards be met by then.