13 - AZ Alkmaar make their long-awaited return to the round of 16. A 2-2 draw at Galatasaray, coupled with their 4-1 first-leg win, saw the Dutch side advance 6-3 on aggregate. Despite their elimination, Galatasaray kept their scoring streak in the Europa League going. It is now 13 consecutive matches that the Turkish champions have found the back of the net. The last time they failed to do so came three years ago in the round of 16 at Barcelona.
4 - FCSB were one of just two sides to win both legs of their knockout round playoff tie. A 2-0 defeat of PAOK in Romania completed a 4-1 aggregate success. The Romanian have won their last four UEL knockout round home games, keeping clean sheets in all of those games. The last time they did not come out on top was in 2011/12, when Twente beat them 1-0 in the round of 32.
14 - Bodo/Glimt came through an incredibly dramatic match against Twente, finding two goals in extra time to top their opponents 5-2 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate. The Norwegians, who will participate in the Europa League round of 16 for the first time, have scored the joint-most home goals in the competition this term with 14 from five games. That is an average of 2.8 goals per match.
8 - AS Roma had to come from behind in their match against Porto. Yet, the Giallorossi made the most of their man advantage, defeating the Portuguese outfit 3-2 at home. That was also enough for them to advance 4-3 on aggregate. Porto are now eight games without a win on Italian soil against Serie A opposition. Fittingly, their last victory came against Roma in the Champions League playoff round back in 2016.
7 - Real Sociedad were also involved in a seven-goal game. However, unlike Bodo/Glimt, the Spanish club did not require extra time. Instead, they defeated Midtjylland 5-2 at home, advancing 7-3 overall. It felt like a long time coming for La Real. They have finally progressed from a two-legged knockout round tie at the seventh time of asking. On each of the other six occasions, they had fell at the first hurdle. That will not be the case this time around.
6 - Viktoria Plzen overcame their first-leg defeat to knock out Ferencvaros 3-0 on the night and 3-1 across the two legs. It also means for the second straight season, Plzen will be in the last 16 of a UEFA club competition. As for Fradi, who also fell at this stage of the Conference League last year, the loss was their sixth defeat versus teams from Czechia (4-2-6).
11 - Anderlecht could not overturn their 3-0 deficit from the first leg against Fenerbahce. A 2-2 draw in Brussels saw the Turkish club progress 5-2 on aggregate. The former UEFA Cup victors failed to win their last four in the Europa League, conceding 11 times in the process. Just as was the case in the UCL, the 24th-ranked team from the league phase advanced past the knockout playoffs.
28 - Ajax had to dig deep, as they had played down a man versus Union Saint-Gilloise. Extra time was required here, with the Dutch team moving on 3-2 over the two legs, despite losing 2-1 on the night. This reverse was Ajax's third at home in Europe this term, qualifiers included. Before this campaign, the last time Ajax lost three European home games in the same season, 28 years ago (UCL, reached SF).