--snipped--
Galatasaray's squad was quite strong. Talented players like Osimhen and Icardi were in Galatasaray's squad. I considered Galatasaray to be the favorite to win the Europa League. But Galatasaray's performance against AZ Alkmaar was very poor.
Yes, they failed because in the first leg alone they were already 4-1 behind on aggregate, and one of the reasons might be because of Osimhen's absence in that match. Yes, Galatasaray's performance should not have been that weak. However, it is undeniable that Az Alkmaar's performance was also very good at that time.
Well, if you look at this chart, could the final be Lazio vs Bilbao? Or will there be another surprise? Like Fenerbache in the Final? This will be quite difficult to predict.
Ohh no wonder Oshimen was not there, therefore Galatasaray's attack weakened and could not do much in the first leg and made AZ Alkmaar create a fairly large aggregate so that it was difficult to pursue an aggregate of 3 goals in the second leg, especially since Galatasaray only played with 10 players since the 51st minute and made AZ Alkmaar take advantage of that moment to add a goal which ultimately won with a landslide score.
I think it's still too early to see who will reach the final because Bilbao and Lazio are not yet certain whether they can survive until the final, and for Bilbao itself in the last 16 must face Rome, a club that has a lot of experience in the UEL so it is not easy for Bilbao to qualify in this round.