By Eden Roitfarb and Yossi Medina
The Europa Conference League group stage has come to an end, and 16 teams will soon know their path to the glorious final in Athens.
Here are the best moments from matchday six.
Who has made it to the round of 16?
Fiorentina completed the group stage with a direct ticket to the round of 16, in their final match away to Ferencvaros.
Kristoffer Zachariassen scored first for the Hungarians in the 48th minute, before Luca Ranieri equalized the score in the 73rd minute.
The Italian side missed out on first place in the group stage last year, but still managed to make it all the way to the final in Prague.
Would skipping the play-off stage help them take one further step forward and win the title?
Luca Ranieri = Fiorentina's top scorer in the competition this season 👊#UECL pic.twitter.com/DBXzXT8asB
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) December 14, 2023
Legia Warsaw maintain Polish success
AZ Alkmaar had been one of the more impressive teams last season, as they reached the semi-finals, losing to eventual winners West Ham.
Meanwhile Poland saw a great run from Lech Poznan, who reached the quarter-finals.
AZ had some problems during the group stage this time around, and had to beat Legia in Warsaw to qualify for the next round.
It was a one-man show from Legia’s captain Josue, who assisted twice, to Yuri Ribeiro in the 34th minute and to Blaz Kramer in the 81st minute.
Legia won 2-0 and they will play in a European knockout stage match for the first time since 2017.
AZ are now eliminated.
It's celebration time for Legia 🎉
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) December 14, 2023
They secure a spot in the knockout round play-offs 💪#UECL pic.twitter.com/3q60LGsbgM
Zahavi and Maccabi Tel Aviv top Group B
The TSC Arena in Backa Topola, Serbia, hosted Maccabi Tel Aviv in Europe once again due to the ongoing situation in Israel, as they welcomed Gent in a match for first place in the group.
And just as advertised, the game was filled with goals, chances and attacking football.
Eran Zahavi scored twice for Maccabi, cementing his position as the joint top scorer of the group stage, alongside today’s opponent Gift Orban, and Benjamin Nygren from Nordsjaelland.
Gabi Kanichowsky added one of his own, and there was a consolation goal from Julien de Sart.
3-1 to Maccabi, who go straight to the round of 16 with 15 points, but they could also feel a strong desire to celebrate this achievement with their supporters in Bloomfield Stadium.
עשינו היסטוריה!
— Maccabi Tel Aviv FC (@MaccabiTLVFC) December 14, 2023
נתראה בשמינית גמר הקונפרנס ליג😎 pic.twitter.com/rE54s9VvTf
The rollercoaster of Group H
In the last matchday, it seemed that nothing could prevent Nordsjaelland from qualifying for the next stage.
After thrashing Fenerbahce 6-1 last time out, all they had to do was at least draw against Ludogorets.
But it was nothing like the previous meeting between the teams, when Nordsjaelland won 7-1.
It took 79 minutes until Jakub Piotrowski scored for Ludogorets.
Meanwhile, in the other match of the group, Fenerbahce won 4-0 against Spartak Trnava.
The amazing final round dropped the Danes down the third place, knocking them out of the tournament.
Fenerbahce jumped up from third to the top spot in the group, and Ludogorets also qualify in second.
🇹🇷 Fenerbahçe have won 11 of their last 12 European home games, drawing the other 👊@Fenerbahce || #UECL pic.twitter.com/1iYHFwqtoT
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) December 15, 2023
Dinamo Zagreb overcome robust Ballkani
The Croatian giants are having a tough season.
Things aren’t as straightforward as usual in the league, and their Champions League dreams were cut short in the summer.
A fire sale of their best players and a Europa League qualifier defeat meant they found themselves in unfamiliar territory - the Conference League.
Today, after an unpredictable group stage, which included three losses, they won their final crucial game against Ballkani from Kosovo to finish second - not with flying colours, but just good enough.
Ballkani didn’t make life easy, as we have gotten used to from them over the past two campaigns.
It was 0-0 at half time, making the hosts nervous.
Two second half goals from the great Bruno Petkovic, however, and an additional one from Dino Peric, made it 3-0 to Zagreb, who can breathe a sigh of relief before the winter break.
We will see them in February for the play-off round.
2023/24 #UECL Group Stage is complete ✅
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) December 14, 2023
Most exciting team here is? pic.twitter.com/MqcS8hlUTy
