Friday at last. Welcome to The Free Transfer— the 5 minute daily football newsletter, filling you in on what’s important.

• Europa League Semifinals— First Leg Results 🏆️ 

• West Ham move closer to their first European final in 58 years ⚒️ 

• Weekend Preview— The Top 5 Leagues 👀 

• 10 year anniversary of THAT Troy Deeney goal 😲 

EUROPA LEAGUE SEMIFINALS— FIRST LEG RESULTS 🛎️🥊 

TLDR;

Juventus vs. Sevilla

• Sevilla dominated the first 60’ of the match & had a 1-0 lead to show for it. Juventus got the last laugh with a late equalizer to keep the tie at 1-1.

Roma vs. Bayer Leverkeusen

• After an uneventful first half, Roma opened the scoring in the 63’. Leverkeusen missed 2 great, late chances to equalize. Final: 1-0 Roma.

What we learned— Juventus vs. Sevilla

• Juventus (and Allegri) still don’t mind ugly results

• Juventus have top quality like Samuel Iling-Junior, Paul Pogba, and Federico Chiesa that can come off the bench to win games

• Sevilla’s style of football seemed to overwhelm Juventus completely

• If Sevilla can take their many opportunities better, they will go through

What we learned— Roma vs. Bayer Leverkeusen

• Round one to the teacher. Mourinho outlasts his former player Alonso.

• Roma have their new “figlio di Roma” (“son of Rome) in Edoardo Bove

  • His liveliness in midfield created chances & resulted in a goal

• Bayer Leverkeusen can get at Roma’s defense with direct play

  • Almost all of their chances came from running straight at Mourinho’s defenders

Questions for the Second Legs

• Can Sevilla captalize on their superior play to win at home? Or will Allegri go with a more aggressive lineup to steal a win away?

• When it comes to defending leads, there are few better than Mourinho. Will Leverkeusen be able to force the issue at home?

WEST HAM HAVE A FOOT IN THE FINAL⚒️ 

Considering West Ham were in deep in the Premier League relegation battle until an unlikely win vs. Manchester United last week, it is crazy that they might yet win a European trophy this season.

Who cares?

• Yes, it may be “just" the Conference League, but don’t tell that to West Ham fans who haven’t seen a European final in nearly 60 years.

TLDR;

• A second half comeback fueled by Saïd Benrahma’s directness, ended with:

  • A cute chipped cross from Declan Rice, redirected by Aguerd, cleared off the line, and put into the back of the net by West Ham legend Michail Antonio.

  • FINAL— West Ham 2-1 AZ Alkmaar

WEEKEND PREVIEW— RAPID FIRE 🏃💨 

Premier League 🇬🇧 

• Match of the weekend

  • Aston Villa vs. Spurs— this one has huge implications for the European places.

• Title race

  • Tough match for Arsenal vs. Brighton.

  • Trap game for City away to Everton.

• Relegation battle

  • It’s do or die time. Leicester vs. Liverpool, Leeds vs. Newcastle, Southampton vs. Fulham

• Gaffer’s bets

  • Villa and Spurs draw

  • Two wins for the title chasers

  • Leicester and Leeds lose, Southampton draw

Bundesliga 🇩🇪 

• Match of the weekend

  • Union Berlin vs. Freiburg— huge implications here for the last Champions League spot.

• Title race

  • Should be two wins for the title chasers this weekend

• Relegation battle

  • Bochum’s relatively easy matchup compared to relegation rivals Schalke, Stuttgart, and Hertha, gives them an opportunity

• Gaffer’s bets

  • Union Berlin win

  • Title chasers both win

  • Anyone’s guess in a Bundesliga relegation scrap

Serie A 🇮🇹 

• Not much action. 

  • Naples are champions. No games between European place contenders. Relegation teams play top-5 opponents.

• Gaffer’s bet

  • Lazio and Atalanta climb the table as their European place rivals are forced to rest up for their European semifinals’ second legs

LaLiga 🇪🇸

• Match(es) of the week

  • Real Sociedad vs. Girona & Villarreal vs. Athletic Club

  • These two “6-pointers” could shake up the European places

• Relegation battle

  • Teams 14-19th are still very much in danger. Must-win territory.

• Gaffer’s bet

  • Barcelona wins the title this weekend 👑 

Ligue 1 🇫🇷 

• Match of the week

  • Monaco vs. Lille— 6 pointer for final Champions League place

  • A Lille win cuts the gap between 4th and 5th to 2 points

  • A Monaco win increases the gap between 4th and 5th to 8 points

• Relegation battle

  • Teams 14-17th are neck and neck for the fourth relegation spot.

  • This season, 4 teams will be relegated from Ligue 1

• Gaffer’s bet

  •  Monaco will be without their two leading goalscorers Ben Yedder (suspension) and Embolo (injury). Without them, it will be difficult.

  • Lille wins to make the top 4 race interesting for the run-in 

HOGG IS THERE, HEADS IT DOWN….. DEENEYYYYYY! 😲 

It’s 10 years to the day since Troy Deeney’s insane last-second goal sent Watford to Wembley for the Promotion Playoff Final.

Debatably the craziest 80 seconds of football we’ve ever witnessed. Soak it in ⤵️ 

Friday, sweet Friday. 🥹 

See you tomorrow for shortened the weekend edition!

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