2016/17 UEFA Europa League group stage draw Group E: Viktoria Plzeň (CZE), Roma (ITA), Austria Wien (AUT), Astra Giurgiu (ROU) Group F: Athletic Club (ESP), Genk (BEL), Rapid Wien (AUT), Sassuolo (ITA) Group I: Schalke (GER), Salzburg (AUT), Krasnodar (RUS), Nice (FRA) The group stage games: Matchday one: 15/09/16 Matchday two: 29/09/16 Matchday three: 20/10/16 Matchday four: 03/11/16 Matchday five: 24/11/16 Matchday six: 08/12/16
Group E Astra Giurgiu 2 - 3 Austria Wien Group F Rapid Wien 3 - 2 Genk Group I Salzburg 0 - 1 Krasnodar Nice opening wins for the two Viennese teams against what may be the easiest opponents in their groups. Salzburg could not take advantage of a man advantage for the last 20 minutes of their home loss to Krasnodar. It doesn't get any easier, as they next face Schalke and Nice. Certainly an uphill climb from here.
Thursday's action (CET Time) 19.00 Schalke 04 - Salzburg 21.05 Austria Wien - Viktoria Plzeň Athletic Club - Rapid Wien
Thursday's action (two road losses and a home draw : Schalke 04 3:1 Salzburg Austria Wien 0-0 Viktoria Plzeň Athletic Club 1-0 Rapid Wien
Group E Clubs P W D L F A +/- Pts AS Roma 2 1 1 0 5 1 4 4 Austria Wien 2 1 1 0 3 2 1 4 Viktoria Plzeň 2 0 2 0 1 1 0 2 Astra Giurgiu 2 0 0 2 2 7 -5 0 Group F Clubs P W D L F A +/- Pts Athletic Club 2 1 0 1 1 3 -2 3 KRC Genk 2 1 0 1 5 4 1 3 Rapid Wien 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3 Sassuolo Calcio 2 1 0 1 4 3 1 3 Group I Clubs P W D L F A +/- Pts Krasnodar 2 2 0 0 6 2 4 6 Schalke 04 2 2 0 0 4 1 3 6 Salzburg 2 0 0 2 1 4 -3 0 OGC Nice 2 0 0 2 2 6 -4 0
Next Europa League games: 20 October, 21.05 Group E Roma- Austria Wien Plzeň - Astra Group F Rapid Wien - Sassuolo Genk - Athletic 20 October, 19.00 Group I Salzburg - Nice Krasnodar -Schalke
In their third and fourth Europa League matches, the two Vienna teams played home and away matches against Italian clubs, while Salzburg played home and away games against Nice. All in all, the Austrian teams finished 1-3-2 with the better results achieved on the road. Roma 3 - 3 Austria Wien Austria Wien 2 - 4 Roma Rapid Wien 1 - 1 Sassuolo Sassuolo 2 - 2 Rapid Wien Salzburg 0 - 1 Nice Nice 0 - 2 Salzburg All three teams are on the edge of qualifying for the next round. Austria Wien sits in second place with a one-point cushion. Rapid Wien and Salzburg currently sit in third and need to make up one point and three points respectively to advance.
The fifth and sixth Europa League matches took place on Nov 24 and Dec 8. Austria Wien 1 - 2 Astra Giurgiu Viktoria Plzen 3 - 2 Austria Wien Genk 1 - 0 Rapid Wien Rapid Wien 1 - 1 Athletic Bilbao Krasnodar 1 - 1 Salzburg Salzburg 2 - 0 Schalke 04 All three Austrian teams were in precarious positions following their fourth matches, and the fifth matches didn't improve the situation of any of them. Rapid's loss at Genk and Salzburg's draw at Krasnodar were enough to officially put them out of contention for the next round before the final match day. Austria Wien lost at home to Astra Giurgiu, which put the Romanians in the driver's seat for the second spot behind Roma. Still, Austria had a path, but it required winning at Viktoria Plzen and Astra Giurgiu failing to defeat Roma on the final day. Up 2-0 and enjoying a man advantage 40 minutes into the match, Austria must have liked their chances. But the 10-man Czech club roared back to score three and drop Austria from second to fourth place in the group. The epic collapse in this match is a microcosm of the collapse in the Group Stage where Austria lost its final three games. Each of the last two years, one Austrian team was in the Europa League Round of 32 (Rapid, Salzburg). The year before that, Salzburg reached the Europa League Round of 16 and Austria reached the Group Stage of the Champions League. With none of the clubs advancing past the Group Stage this year, it's the worst Austrian performance in Europe in some time. Gotta go back four years to the 2013/2014 season when only Rapid was in the Europa League Group Stage and failed to advance.