AS Monaco and AS Roma become the first clubs to secure advancement to Knockout Stage

The eighth matchday of eFootball.Pro IQONIQ took place on Saturday, April 24th, and the results began to reveal which clubs fans can expect to see go head-to-head in the Knockout Stage. With AS Monaco and AS Roma securing their position, and Celtic FC and Galatasaray SK falling out of the running, the four other positions are up for grabs by the six remaining clubs. AS Roma made their skills known with an impressive six point victory against the previous 1st place club, Arsenal FC, removing them from the coveted rank and preventing them from reaching official qualification by the end of the day. Kilzyou was the first player to achieve 20 goals scored so far this season, and Lotfi and Mucahit21 continue to occupy the top positions in the rankings for assists provided and defensive gameplay.

Arsenal FC and AS Roma kicked off the competition with the Gunners hoping to solidify their qualification for the Knockout Stage. The Italian club put their PES skills on display, KEPA’s in particular, during the first game of the day. The Serbian player achieved the first shot of the competition in minute 4’, and then assisted the next which was made by S-Venom in minute 10’. In an incredible demonstration of offensive gameplay, KEPA then scored three more goals by the end of the game, creating AS Roma’s 0-5 result. The official results of Game 2 are from a rematch that was held after the livestream, due to latency issues in the initial game. The Gunners started out ahead by two after brothers INDOMINATOR and INDOJAWA scored back-to-back, however KEPA achieved a second hat trick of the day, with his third goal of the game being a successful penalty kick to secure all six points for the Italian squad. With those points, AS Roma was not yet qualified for the KO Stage, but the results of the rest of the matches and the fact that Juventus and Manchester United FC go face-to-face in Matchday 9 made them achieve this qualification at the end of the day.    

The second fixture was between AS Monaco and Galatasaray SK, with the Monegasque club aiming to earn an official qualifying position, and their Turkish opponents hoping to not fall out of the running. Kilzyou put AS Monaco in the lead just before halftime with his 20th goal of the 2020-21 season, however Galatasaray SK’s Mucahit21 managed to equalize the score in minute 67’ bringing the result to 1-1 where it remained until the clock ran out, granting one point to each club. Kruji brought the Turkish club ahead with a first goal in minute 25’, however Usmakabyle took the game back for AS Monaco with back-to-back shots, only to be equalized by Kruji. Usmakabyle completed a hat trick, which was then followed by a Kilzyou goal to guarantee Monaco’s win, as well as their advancement to the Knockout Stage. 

Juventus and FC Schalke 04 entered their matchup ranked closely and tied at 22 points each, with both clubs hoping to secure qualification. The first game featured various missed chances that resulted in the low scoring game result of 0-1 in FC Schalke 04’s favor, after EL_Matador’s shot in minute 41’. Game 2 had a busy first half, kicked off by IL DISTRUTTORE44’s goal in minute 14’, followed by back-to-back shots achieved by his teammate, LoScandalo. While Urma’s goal in minute 45+1’ prevented a shutout loss for the German trio, it wasn’t enough to earn any points for them from the second half of the match. The results added three points to both of the clubs’ positions on the league table, leaving them tied once again, now at 25 points. Both teams are close to qualifying for the Knockout Stage, but were unable to lock in the results with their Matchday 8 performances. 

The competition continued with Celtic FC and FC Barcelona’s fixture, with the Scottish squad needing near perfect results in order to avoid being mathematically eliminated. ALEXR was the first to put his club on the scoreboard in minute 25’, which was then equalized ten minutes later by Celtic FC captain Jorcha. ALEX GRD and Gagliado28 added one additional goal to each of their clubs' scores, creating the final 2-2 result of Game 1. The second game was off to a similar start with a first shot by ALEXR, which was then countered by PataNegra7, who was making his return to eFootball.Pro IQONIQ after a three matchday hiatus. It was THE PALMA’s shot in minute 72’ that guaranteed a 1-2 victory for Barcelona, and officially took Celtic FC out of the running for Knockout Stage contention.

FC Bayern München and Manchester United FC closed out the eighth matchday with a goal show. Commentators referred to Game 1 as an “incredible individual performance by Alex Alguacil” as well as an “incredible team performance by Bayern.” All five of the goals scored were in favor of the German trio, including a hat trick by Alex Alguacil, which secured a shutout victory. Manchester United FC came back with a vengeance in Game 2, beginning with a goal by Kams10_ in only the second minute. MESTRE and JOSE brought their club ahead just after halftime, however the lead was short lived as Kams10_ completed his hat trick by minute 73’. E_C_Oneill then stunned his teammates, opponents, and the eFootball.Pro IQONIQ commentators with two successful shots from the center line in quick succession, the first in minute 84’ and the second only two minutes later in 86’. This created the 2-5 result, and sent both clubs to the league table with three points.

The MVP of Matchday 7 and the best goal award of the April 10th competition were presented at the beginning of the day. FC Bayern München's Alex Alguacil won the prize for the best goal, and Arsenal FC captain INDOMINATOR was named MVP. The awards of Matchday 8 will be announced on Saturday, May 8th. In order to decide the MVP, KONAMI chooses one player out of the five based on CO-OP points determined by the video game. Both MVP and Best Goal are individual prizes that award 10,000€ each to the winner. 

The following fixtures for the ninth matchday have officially been announced: Juventus vs. Manchester United FC, Galatasaray SK vs. FC Barcelona, AS Roma vs. FC Schalke 04, AS Monaco vs. FC Bayern München, Arsenal FC vs. Celtic FC. Matchday 9 is scheduled to broadcast on Saturday, May 8th at 1:00pm CEST (11:00pm GMT).

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