The draw that nobody wanted

The Europa League quarter-final draw for 2026 feels like a fever dream. We have the usual suspects, a few mid-table underachievers, and a dark horse that shouldn't even be in the competition. San Mamés in Bilbao is a cathedral of football, but the road to get there has been paved with defensive blunders and refereeing disasters.

Seeing Manchester United paired with Benfica brings back memories, but not the good ones. It is a rematch of the 2018 round of 16, where Jose Mourinho’s side looked like they were playing in slow motion. This current iteration under their latest manager is hardly better. They struggle to break down low blocks, and against a tactical side like Benfica, that is a death sentence.

The tactical rot at the top

Look at the other side of the bracket. Bayer Leverkusen is back, but their intensity has dropped significantly since their invincible season. They are leaking goals in transition, a stark contrast to the machine-like precision we saw in 2024. If they cannot fix their defensive shape, they will be shredded by the high press of their quarter-final opponents.

As UEFA official records indicate, the coefficient battle is heating up, but the quality of play has plummeted. The modern game is obsessed with keeping possession for the sake of it. We are seeing more sideways passing than a training session for a youth academy. It is tedious, it is predictable, and it is killing the spectacle of Thursday nights.

The Bilbao reality check

Why do we pretend the Europa League is a prestigious consolation prize? It is a graveyard for teams that failed to make the Champions League knockout stages. Fans treat it like a chore until the semi-finals arrive, which is an insult to the history of the competition. The UEFA Cup meant something because it was a straight knockout, not this bloated group stage slog that precedes it.

The standout tie is undoubtedly the Serie A clash between AC Milan and Roma. These teams know each other too well. They played to a 0-0 draw in the league just three weeks ago where neither side managed a shot on target for the first hour. Expecting a classic here is pure delusion. It will be a cagey, tactical slog ending in a penalty shootout or a scrappy set-piece goal.

A flawed system

The most frustrating aspect is the lack of rotation. Managers are running their star players into the ground for a trophy that barely moves the needle for a club of Milan's size. When you see the starting lineups, you immediately know who is taking it seriously and who is just fulfilling a contractual obligation to play their B-team.

If you need proof of the decline, just look at the attendance figures in the smaller stadiums. Empty seats are becoming the norm, even in the knockouts. The magic is fading because the format is too bloated. We have reached the point where the 8 remaining clubs are just exhausted remnants of a season that has lasted ten months too long.

The path forward

I want to see intensity. I want to see a manager take a risk and actually play to win, rather than playing not to lose. But with the stakes being what they are, expect more of the same. The road to Bilbao will be paved with caution, tactical fouls, and disappointed fans who expected a spectacle but got a chess match.

Whether you support these clubs or not, the quarter-finals are a mirror of everything wrong with the current state of European football. It is too long, too expensive, and often too boring. Maybe the final in Spain will provide a moment of brilliance, but I wouldn't count on it. The game has lost its soul, and this tournament is the ultimate proof.