We are now into the business end of the European football season, and this week, the first legs of all round of 16 clashes from the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League all take place across the continent.
It has been a week to forget for English sides. Nine of them lined up, full of hope and expectation, but only one of them is heading into their respective second legs next week with an advantage. That side is Aston Villa, but even they have work to do, having only won by a solitary goal.
Beyond being humiliated on the pitch, English fans also got a glimpse of how good football fanfare can look in the stands, too, with plenty of clubs unveiling huge tifos in the stands pre-match. Let's take a look at three of the best from this past week.
Tifos in Europe this week: The top three
Galatasaray – A tribute to Victor Osimhen's mum
Galatasaray are known for producing iconic and intimidating tifos before big matches, but this week they stripped it all back and played on the heartstrings instead.
Prior to their Champions League match with Liverpool, fans at one end of RAMS Park unveiled a tifo dedicated to Victor Osimhen's mum, who passed away when the player was just a young boy. Underneath the tifo were the words ‘We are a family and family is everything'.
The Galatasaray fans have fallen in love with Osimhen over the past 18 months, and this special tribute left the former Napoli man in tears before kick-off.
See, we all want Osimhen to move to the premier league or La Liga, but at the end of the day, I’ll advise him to stay where he is loved.
— TobyWrites (@tobyasky) March 10, 2026
The Galatasaray fans adore him, this is genuine love.
On a big day like this for the club where the world is watching, they dedicated a tifo… pic.twitter.com/e7SfYnnbTL
Lille – French never die
Lille fans were the winners of the Europa League tifo competition this week, following their stunning effort in the build-up to their clash with Aston Villa on Thursday night.
A huge image of Joan of Arc, a national war heroine of France, with the words ‘French never die' underneath, was unveiled at one end of the stadium as the players walked out onto the pitch before kick-off.
Aston Villa have prepared some brilliant tifos of their own in recent years, but they have their work cut out to top this next week.
Well done Villa 👏 solid European away performance that – strong tifo game from the Lille fans too #UEL pic.twitter.com/TBjvdcOieq
— Adam Summerton (@adamsummerton) March 12, 2026
Newcastle – Budapest awaits for me
English clubs are certainly playing catch-up when it comes to tifos, but the Newcastle United effort on Tuesday night was impressive.
The Tifo at one end of St James' Park featured a huge magpie holding up a piece of paper reminiscent of those used during UEFA draws, with the words ‘Newcastle United' written on it. Below, a message that read ‘Geordie boys are taking over. Budapest awaits for me' in reference to this year's final in Hungary.
⬛⬜ Newcastle United have upped their tifo game.
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) March 10, 2026
"Geordie boys are taking over. Budapest awaits for me." pic.twitter.com/vvAPlFboOP