What road problems?
For the second consecutive match, Arsenal picked up a 1-0 win on the road, this time against even tougher competition. Arsenal beat Napoli, 1-0, and 3-0 on aggregate to advance to the Europa League semifinals. Alexandre Lacazette scored a terrific free kick from 30-yards out, taking advantage of Alex Meter shifting the wrong way.
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¡¡GOOOOOOOLLLLLLL DEL ARSENAL!! Lacazatte de tiro libre y arquero se queda frío.@sscnapoliES 0-1 @ArsenalEspanol (0-3)
— TUDN USA (@TUDNUSA) April 18, 2019
EN VIVO 👉 https://t.co/iR0ibLwKQE pic.twitter.com/13Yw4S3GhT
In the second half, with Napoli needing four goals and pushing, Arsenal relied heavily on its centerback trio of Sokratis, Laurent Koscielny, and Nacho Monreal, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Saed Kolasinac helping in defense.
It’s a reversal of Arsenal’s recent fortunes, where before Monday, they hadn’t won on the road since February, including in the Europa League to Rennes. However, the 2-0 scoreline from the first leg really gave Arsenal the push and momentum it needed to get past a struggling Napoli side under Carlo Ancelotti.
Elsewhere, Valencia took care of languishing Villarreal in style with a 2-0 victory, winning 5-1 on aggregate, but the real drama took place in Germany.
With Eintracht Frankfurt trailing before kickoff by a pair of goals, the Eagles - well, both Benfica and Eintracht are the Eagles - managed to secure a 2-0 result to advance in the Europa League. Sebastian Rode’s second-half finish off an Ante Rebec pass has kept Eintracht’s season alive in Europe, where Luka Jovic can continue to market himself to the world’s biggest clubs.
