Napoli started in the group stage of the Europa League in England, facing off against the main rival in the fight for the first line in the face of Leicester. With great difficulty, the Neapolitans snatched a 2:2 draw, losing two goals during the match. The second round turned out to be a failure for Luciano Spalletti’s team. At home the Neapolitans unexpectedly lost to Spartak with a score of 2:3. However, in two fights with Legia, the parthenopians were not mistaken and took all six points, beating the rival with a total score of 7:1. However, it was not possible to build on the success, again Spartak became an insurmountable obstacle for Napoli. The 1:2 defeat in Moscow seriously complicated the task for the Neapolitans. They are third in the group with seven points and are ahead of the last Legia by only one point and the first Leicester is at the same distance.
Dynamo, finding themselves in a very difficult group, where all opponents have superiority in class, could only count on a miracle, but it did not happen. However, the start for Mircea Lucescu’s team turned out to be quite solid. In the home match with Benfica they had many chances and even scored a goal at the end of the match, but his referee canceled and recorded a goalless draw. Having lost 0:5 without a chance in Munich to Bayern Munich, the Kyivans in the confrontation with Barcelona had to take points in order to be able to compete for at least third place. But the difference in the class was too great. Twice “blue-garnet” were stronger. The 1:2 defeat from the unmotivated Bayern Munich in the last round put an end to Dynamo’s chances of catching on to the third line.
