Troy Parrott continued his fine run of form as AZ Alkmaar advanced to the Uefa Conference League quarter-final with a dominant 4-0 away win over Sparta Prague, completing a 6-1 aggregate win.
In what Ireland fans will be hoping is a good omen in the Czech capital, Parrott scored AZ’s second goal with a tidy left-footed finish, and then unselfishly laid on his side’s fourth, scored by Ro-Zangelo Daal, before being substituted shortly after.
Troy Parrott scores against Czech opposition ahead of next week’s massive game 🦜
The Irishman strikes from close range to put AZ Alkmaar 4-1 up on aggregate 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/j2cBeyKEjz
— Premier Sports Ireland (@PremSportsIRL) March 19, 2026
AZ will now play Shakhtar Donetsk in the next round. Parrott will be back in the Czech Republic next Thursday for Ireland’s World Cup playoff game.
Crystal Palace’s European adventure continues after Ismaila Sarr’s extra-time winner at nine-man AEK Larnaca booked a Conference League quarter-final against Fiorentina.
Sarr fired Palace, who had drawn the first leg 0-0, into a 13th-minute lead in Cyprus, but defender Enric Saborit levelled in the 63rd minute, only to be sent off 10 minutes later after being shown a second yellow card.
Sarr put the Eagles 2-1 ahead nine minutes into extra time before twice going close to a hat-trick, clipping the crossbar on both occasions, the second time after Larnaca had been reduced to nine men following Petros Ioannou’s dismissal.
A moment of brilliance from Emiliano Martinez helped Aston Villa reach a third successive European quarter-final as they saw off Lille in the Europa League.
The Argentina goalkeeper, whose long-term future at Villa remains in doubt, played a big part in John McGinn’s second-half opener 15 seconds after making an important save.
Leon Bailey’s late second goal completed a 2-0 win on the night, 3-0 on aggregate, setting up a quarter-final meeting with either Bologna or Roma.
Progress keeps Villa’s dream of a trophy alive and, after falling short in the Conference League and Champions League in the last two seasons, Europa League specialist Unai Emery must be smelling the scent of a fifth title.
Nottingham Forest fought back from a first leg deficit to reach the Europa League quarter-finals with a 3-0 penalty shootout win over Midtjylland after the teams finished 2-2 on aggregate following extra time on Thursday.
After Midtjylland secured a 1-0 first-leg victory at a rain-soaked City Ground through Cho Gue-sung’s late header, Forest made sure their campaign would not end in the round of 16 as goals from Nicolas Dominguez and Ryan Yates sealed them a 2-1 win on Thursday to take the match into penalties.
In the shootout, while Midtjylland missed all three of their spot-kicks, Morgan Gibbs-White, Ibrahim Sangare and Neco Williams all fired into the net to lead Forest into the quarter-finals.