Europa League round-up: FC Copenhagen hold nerve to qualify
Thursday 7 December 2017 23:09, UK
FC Copenhagen emerged from a three-way qualification fight to reach the Europa League knockout stages thanks to a 2-0 win over Sheriff.
Goals from Pieros Sotiriou and Michael Luftner were enough to send the Danish capital outfit into the round of 32 at the expense of Sheriff, who had Jairo sent off.
Lokomotiv Moscow joined Copenhagen as the other side to progress from Group F, the Russians prevailing 2-0 at Zlin thanks to second-half goals from Aleksei Miranchuk and Jefferson Farfan.
Zoran Gajic's red card for two bookable offences left the hosts hamstrung, and Lokomotiv took full advantage.
Braga managed to top Group C despite losing 2-1 at Istanbul Basaksehir, Edin Visca and Emre Belozoglu on target for the Turkish hosts and Raul Silva in reply for the visitors.
Ludogorets' 1-1 draw at Hoffenheim proved enough to claim second spot, and deny Basaksehir a place in the knockout stages.
Philipp Ochs put Hoffenheim ahead, only for Wanderson's goal just after the hour to ensure Ludogorets' passage despite Claudiu Keseru's late red card.
Group D winners Milan bombed out 2-0 at Rijeka, but the hosts still failed to qualify for the next stage - as AEK Athens secured a goalless draw at Austria Vienna.
Jakov Puljic and Mario Gavranovic found the net for Rijeka, but that proved in vain as Greek capital club AEK grabbed the draw they needed to progress.
Ademola Lookman scored twice in six first-half minutes as Everton claimed a 3-0 win at Apollon Limassol, in a match where both sides had already failed to qualify from Group E.
Nikola Vlasic also found the net for Sam Allardyce's side, while Atalanta secured top spot with Andrea Petagna's goal securing a 1-0 win over Lyon.
Astana stole second spot in Group A thanks to their 1-0 victory at Slavia Prague, where Marin Anicic struck the winner.
Group winners Villarreal went down 1-0 at Maccabi Tel Aviv, who had Nick Blackman to thank for the winner in a dead rubber.
Dynamo Kiev topped Group B with a 4-1 win over Partizan Belgrade, with Junior Moraes blasting a hat-trick.
Captain Mykola Morozyuk started the rout, while Marko Jevtovic found the net for the well-beaten visitors.
Despite their loss, Partizan had already secured second spot and progression to the last 32.
Both already eliminated, Young Boys stole a 2-1 home win over Skenderbeu thanks to Roger Assale's last-gasp added-time winner, where captain Guillaume Hoarau had already found the net and Enis Gavazaj had put the visitors into an early lead.
Arsenal dumped BATE Borisov out of the Europa League by beating the Belarusian outfit 6-0 at the Emirates Stadium.
Mathieu Debuchy, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Olivier Giroud and Mohamed Elneny all struck for the Gunners, with Denis Polyakov conceding an own goal to boot.
Arsenal's thumping victory coupled with Red Star Belgrade's 1-0 win over Cologne left BATE eliminated at the group stages.
Red Star finished second in Group H, with Slavoljub Srnic's goal enough to overcome Cologne and secure knockout qualification.
Marseille sealed safe passage as runners-up in Group I thanks to a goalless draw with group winners Salzburg, with Vitoria and Konyaspor eliminated after a 1-1 draw.
Group winners Villarreal went down 1-0 at Maccabi Tel Aviv, who had Nick Blackman to thank for the winner.
Dynamo Kiev saw off Partizan Belgrade 4-1 in Group B, with both sides having already qualified in advance. Young Boys beat Skenderbeu 2-1.
Plzen clinched first place in Group G with a 2-0 win at Hapoel Beer Sheva, while Steaua Bucharest finished second despite a 2-1 loss to Lugano.
Athletic Bilbao topped Group J by winning 2-0 at Zorya, with Ostersund finishing second thanks to a 1-1 draw at Hertha Berlin.
Lazio lost 3-2 at Zulte Waregem but had already won Group K, and Nice lost 1-0 at Vitesse Arnhem but had already sealed the runners-up spot.
Zenit St Petersburg topped Group L with a 3-1 win at Real Sociedad, who had previously sealed second place. Already eliminated pair Vardar and Rosenborg played out a 1-1 draw.
