Europa League recap: the story so far

The UEFA Europa League season was put on hold in March due to the COVID-19 outbreak, with six of the eight round of 16 first legs having been played.

With the competition back, and the draw for the quarter-finals onward in Germany made, UEFA.com gets you up to speed.

Who is still in contention?

Copenhagen, Inter Milan, Manchester United and Shakhtar confirmed their places in the quarter-finals after the competition resumed on Wednesday 5 August.

The round of 16 contenders included teams from 11 nations; three from Germany, two each from England, Italy and Spain and one each from Austria, Denmark, Greece, Scotland, Switzerland, Turkey and Ukraine.

Those 16 sides included six former UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League winners: Eintracht (1980), Leverkusen (1988), Manchester United (2017), Shakhtar (2009), three-time winners Inter (1991, 1994, 1998) and five-time champions Sevilla (2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016).

Of the eight sides that parachuted down from the UEFA Champions League group stage, only four remain: Inter, Leverkusen, Olympiacos and Shakhtar.

How can I watch?

All games are behind closed doors. See how to watch with our broadcast partners.

What is the schedule?

Round of 16:

Second legs

Wednesday 5 August, 18:55 CET
Copenhagen 3-0 İstanbul Başakşehir (first leg: 3-1)
Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 Wolfsburg (5-1)

Wednesday 5 August, 21:00 CET
Manchester United 2-1 LASK (7-1)

Thursday 6 August: 18:55 CET
Leverkusen vs Rangers (3-1)

Thursday 6 August: 21:00 CET
Basel vs Eintracht Frankfurt (3-0)
Wolves vs Olympiacos (1-1)

One-off ties

Wednesday 5 August: 21:00 CET
Internazionale Milano 2-0 Getafe (Gelsenkirchen)

Thursday 6 August: 18:55 CET
Sevilla vs Roma (Duisburg)

Quarter-finals:

Monday 10 August, 21:00 CET
Manchester United vs Copenhagen (Cologne)
Internazionale Milano vs Rangers/Leverkusen (Dusseldorf)

Tuesday 11 August, 21:00 CET
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Eintracht Frankfurt/Basel (Gelsenkirchen)
Olympiacos/Wolves vs Sevilla/Roma (Duisburg)

Semi-finals:

Sunday 16 August, 21:00 CET
Olympiacos/Wolves/Sevilla/Roma vs Manchester United/Copenhagen (Cologne)

Monday 17 August, 21:00 CET
Internazionale Milano/Rangers/Leverkusen vs Shakhtar Donetsk/Eintracht Frankfurt/Basel (Dusseldorf)

Final:

Friday 21 August, 21:00 CET

Winner of first semi-final vs Winner of second semi-final (Cologne)

It's a fact: Since the UEFA Cup became the UEFA Europa League in 2009/10, nine of the ten editions have been won by Spanish or English sides.

Have there been any squad changes?

See the changes confirmed on Monday

• Each squad is still limited to 25 List A players (players could be removed to make room).

• Players must have been already registered and eligible to play for the club at domestic level since 3 February or in any case by no later than before the first leg of the round of 16 as initially scheduled for the relevant team.

• Teams will be able to make five substitutions but, to limit the number of stoppages, they will only be allowed to make these changes at three points in the game. These three occasions do not include changes at half-time, between the end of normal playing time and extra time, and at half-time during extra time. One additional substitution will be allowed during extra time.

• There will also be more player to choose from: a total of 23 players will be allowed on the match sheet instead of 18, something usually only permitted for the final.

Who are the top scorers?

Six players have scored six goals in the 2019/20 competition so far, five of whom are with clubs who have made it to the round of 16:

Bruno Fernandes (Sporting CP/Manchester United)
Daichi Kamada (Eintracht Frankfurt)
Andraž Šporar (Slovan Bratislava/Sporting CP)
Alfredo Morelos (Rangers)
Edin Višća (İstanbul Başakşehir)
Diogo Jota (Wolves)

Braga's Galeno has served up the most assists so far, with six, though his side were eliminated in the round of 32. Juan Mata of Manchester United is second with fifth (one ahead Bruno Fernandes, who switched from Sporting to Old Trafford in January).

It's a fact: All of the UEFA Europa League top scorers to date have registered at least eight goals; Radamel Falcao scored a competition-record 17 in 2010/11 for Porto. Last season's top scorer was Chelsea's Olivier Giroud with 11.

How good has it been so far?

Awesome, as always. We have had over 500 goals already in this season's UEFA Europa League (at an average rate of 2.8 per game). The football has been classy too: look at some of the highlights pieces embedded in this article for evidence.

It's a fact: Manchester United have scored more goals (23), had more shots (154) and efforts on target (55) than any other sides in this season's competition.

Who qualified from the group stage?

Group A: Sevilla (1st), APOEL (2nd)
Group B: Malmö, Copenhagen
Group C: Basel, Getafe
Group D: LASK, Sporting
Group E: Celtic, Cluj
Group F: Arsenal, Frankfurt
Group G: Porto, Rangers
Group H: Espanyol, Ludogorets
Group I: Gent, Wolfsburg
Group J: İstanbul Başakşehir, Roma
Group K: Braga, Wolves
Group L: Manchester United, AZ Alkmaar

What happened in the round of 32?

Joining the 24 teams that qualified from the group stage, eight third-placed Champions League sides entered the round of 32: Club Brugge, Olympiacos, Shakhtar Donetsk, Leverkusen, Salzburg, Inter, Benfica and Ajax.

İstanbul Başakşehir vs Sporting (agg: 5-4)
Copenhagen vs Celtic (4-2)
Wolves vs Espanyol (6-3)
Rangers vs Braga (4-2)
Wolfsburg vs Malmö (5-1)
Getafe vs Ajax (3-2)
Sevilla vs Cluj (1-1, away goals rule)
Roma vs Gent (2-1)
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Salzburg (6-3)
Basel vs APOEL (4-0)
LASK vs AZ Alkmaar (3-1)
Manchester United vs Club Brugge (6-1)
Olympiacos vs Arsenal (2-2, away goals rule)
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Benfica (5-4)
Leverkusen vs Porto (5-2)
Inter vs Ludogorets (4-1)