There’s nothing quite like Thursdays on TNT Sports and discovery+.And the UEFA Europa League was full of drama on Matchweek 6 as the league phase neared its end and tensions continued to heighten, with the qualification picture becoming clearer.
TNT Sports kept tabs on all the action to highlight some of the unusual moments you may have missed.
A new one for sports science
We live in an era of sports science where even the most obscure-looking exercises can pass for valuable pre-match muscle activation. Even by modern standards though, Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate’s pre-match warm-up routine is an eyebrow-raising one – literally!
Ahead of Celtic’s 3-0 hammering at the hands of AS Roma, Hatate was seemingly putting his eyes through their paces with a unique routine, horizontally pointing his index fingers above and below his head, diverting his eyes between them.
His routine then saw him point both fingers vertically, either side of his head, before chasing his eyes from side to side.
The 28-year-old proceeded to roll his eyes all the way around, in a routine that spanned around a minute.
It is not the first time Hatate has prepared for a game in such a manner, and nor is it the only quirky act on the pitch.
A viral video in 2023 showed Hatate cooling down from Celtic’s 3-0 victory over Dundee by running around Celtic Park barefoot.
Perhaps he knows something we do not.
Federer graces our screensAny Roger Federer sighting since his tennis retirement in 2022 is a welcome one, and from the lofty heights of an executive box at St. Jakob-Park sat the 20-time Grand Slam champion, as he watched his beloved Basel suffer a 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.
In a competitive first half, Federer celebrated an equaliser as his renowned compatriot, Xherdan Shaqiri, delivered a teasing free-kick for Flavius Daniliuc to head home.
Federer, who was born in Basel and is a lifelong fan of the club, would ultimately be left crestfallen by a 53rd-minute Youri Tielemans winner, one which places the Swiss side in danger of not reaching the knockout stages – sitting 26th on six points from six matches.
The result sparked an almost movie villain-like exit from Federer as he retreated back through the doors of his box – and his next appearance on TNT Sports’ cameras may well come at January’s Australian Open.
It was confirmed on Thursday that Federer will headline a new pre-tournament celebration at the season-opening Grand Slam in Melbourne, one which will give him the chance to say farewell to Australian fans and celebrate the six titles he won on Rod Laver Arena. You can watch all the Australian Open action live on TNT Sports and discovery+.Jesus loves a Thursday nightJust 80 seconds after being introduced as a substitute, Nottingham Forest striker Igor Jesus pounced with an understated, excellent finish, in what proved to be a winner for his side against Utrecht. 
‘How’s that for impact!’ – Super sub Jesus wins it at the death for Forest
Video credit: TNT Sports
The Brazilian was one of 10 Forest players who lost their place in the starting line-up following the 3-0 defeat to Everton at the weekend, but proved just how valuable he is for Sean Dyche’s side when he popped up with the all-important goal which had eluded them.
It came following a neat passage of play – Morgan Gibbs-White finding Callum Hudson-Odoi, who made a clever run in behind. His cross was met by the head of Dan Ndoye, with Jesus in the right place to fire home an improvised finish from Vasilis Barkas’ parry.
The 88th-minute winner extended a prolific Europa League record for Jesus this season – his fourth goal in five matches – over the course of just 256 minutes. That is a goal every 64 minutes for the Forest striker.
Per Opta, Jesus’ goals-per-minute ratio is the second best of any player in the Europa League, behind on-loan Braga forward Fran Navarro – who played just 15 minutes from the bench in his side’s 1-0 win over Nice on Thursday.
By contrast, Jesus has managed just a single goal in 14 Premier League appearances – 669 minutes, per Transfermarkt.
And Jesus’ strike condemned Utrecht to an ultimately frustrating defeat, having contended with Forest throughout the evening despite being heavy underdogs.
And TNT Sports managed to capture the reaction of perhaps the most furious member of the Stadion Galgenwaard crowd when Jesus’ goal went in.
We just hope the hat is okay…
Keane goes wild
For some, Robbie Keane being the manager of Hungarian side Ferencvaros may be a ‘thing you missed’ in itself. His presence at the club has been somewhat understated, with the visiting Rangers the first British side he has faced in the Europa League this season.
His impact at the club has been quite remarkable – sitting atop the Hungarian top tier and guiding his side as high as sixth in the European standings.
And the former Celtic striker particularly revelled in Thursday’s 2-1 victory over his previous Old Firm rivals.
When Barnabas Varga’s second-half strike – his 20th goal of the season – proved to be the winner upon the sounding of the full-time whistle, Keane was involved in some particularly wild celebrations with his staff and players – and told TNT Sports his antics were solely down to the fact he felt his side more than deserved the victory.
Highlights: Rangers’ European hopes hanging by a thread with loss to Keane’s Ferencvaros
Video credit: TNT Sports
“I think because of how we dominated the game, to be honest with you,” he said. “Start to finish, all my players were incredible.
“The intensity that we showed, which I told you before in terms of being aggressive and getting after people, they did it for 90 minutes.
“They [Rangers] didn’t deserve the first goal if I’m being honest, and I’m not sure the VAR lines are correct if I’m being totally honest.”
‘Blood everywhere’
Red cards were flying in the early stages of the late Europa League kick-offs, and perhaps the most gruesome was the one which saw Freiburg midfielder Maximilian Eggestein bloodied by a rogue Petar Ratkov elbow – which saw RB Salzburg reduced to 10 players on 37 minutes.
Referee Elchin Masiyev consulted VAR Stuart Attwell, and after reviewing the incident pitchside, there was little doubt the initial yellow card would be upgraded – Ratkov committing a “ferocious swing of the elbow,” as noted on TNT Sports’ commentary.
Eggestein went to the ground to receive treatment, with his face heavily bloodied in the aftermath, but was fine to continue and play the full 90 minutes.
“It’s a good thing that Eggestein’s Freiburg shirt is already red,” TNT Sports’ commentator added.
Blood pours from Freiburg’s Eggestein after Ratkov sees RED for elbow after VAR checks
Video credit: TNT Sports
And there was more bloodshed in another of Thursday’s fixtures, as Ferencvaros manager and ex-Liverpool striker Keane revealed the – somewhat blurry – aftermath of his side’s equaliser against Rangers.
He said: “At half-time I went to sit down, and I’m going to blame Phil [Hudson], one of my coaches. His chair was too close to my chair.
“I went to sit down, I wasn’t even looking; the adrenaline was still going. Before I knew it, there was blood everywhere and the doctor was sorting me out.”
‘Before I knew it, there was blood everywhere!’ – Keane on bench mishap
Video credit: TNT Sports
Sorry Morgan…
And we could not forget to showcase a moment Villa star Rogers may not want to see again…
The England star has been infallible for Unai Emery’s side this season, but TNT Sports expert Michail Antonio could not pass up the opportunity to showcase a particular moment which caught his eye.
Rogers, bearing down on Benie Traore on the touchline, gave the Basel winger a little too much to work with when lunging in and was a victim of perhaps one of the cleanest nutmegs seen this season.
“I feel like they won the match, but Traore won a part of the game himself,” Antonio quipped.
“Morgan, he’s not going to like showing this up, but it’s a beautiful part of the game. Look at that megs!”
‘He wanted to smile!’ – Relive ‘beautiful’ nutmeg on Rogers
Video credit: TNT Sports
Thomas Hitzlsperger added: “It was so clean!”
Rogers, though, came to his side’s rescue by diverting a goalbound header away from Marco Bizot’s net – and Hitzlsperger was keen to bring attention to his late heroics.
“That’s the only reason why we showed the nutmeg,” he said. “Because he was there in the right position at the right moment.
“Every football player knows this feeling when you get such a clear nutmeg, the players talk about it, but credit to him, he saved the team.”
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