UEFA Europa League roundup: Liverpool, Tottenham qualify as group winners, Ajax crash out
Premier League sides Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspurs completed the group stages of the UEFA Europa League on a positive note as both clubs emerged as group winners. Tottenham emerged 4-1 winners over Ligue 1 side AS Monaco at White Hart Lane whereas Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw away to FC Sion.
Elsewhere, Ajax were dumped out of the Europa League as a 1-1 draw against group toppers Molde FK was not enough for the Eredivisie side to stay in the tournament. Also, Ukrainian side FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, who were one of the finalists last season crashed out of the Europa League despite winning 3-0 at home against Rosenborg BK.
Group A
Dutch giants Ajax were eliminated from the Europa League as they were held to 1-1 against Norwegian side Molde at the Amsterdam Arena. Meanwhile, Celtic who were already out of the competition, played out a 1-1 stalemate with Turkish side Fenerbahce who finished the group as runners-up. Molde finished at the top with 11 points.
Group B
Merseyside club Liverpool topped Group B despite being held to a 0-0 draw away to eventual runners-up FC Sion. Russian side Rubin Kazan missed a great opportunity to make it to the round of 32 as they could only draw against French side Bordeaux. The tie at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux ended in a 2-2 stalemate.
Group C
Russian club Krasnodar emerged as surprise group leaders ahead of German giants Borussia Dortmund as they beat Qabala 3-0 away from home. Dortmund, who were already assured of a place in the next round, had a day to forget as they lost 1-0 at home against Greek side PAOK.
Group D
Italian high-fliers Napoli concluded their group stage campaign in perfect fashion as they thrashed Polish side Legia 5-2. They topped the group comfortably winning all of their six matches claiming a perfect 18 points. Meanwhile, Danish side FC Midtjylland held off Club Brugge as they secured a berth to the knockout stages with a 1-1 draw.
Group E
Austrian side SK Rapid Wein won the race to the top of Group E over Villarreal as they beat Dinamo Minsk 2-1 at home to finish with 15 points. Villareal were held to a 3-3 draw at Viktoria Plzen as they finished second on 13 points.
Group F
SC Braga and Marseille entered the knockout stages as winners and runners-up respectively from Group F respectively. Groningen held the Portuguese side 0-0 at home while Marseille succumbed to a 2-4 loss Czech side Liberec as they missed a chance to go top.
Group G
FC Dnipro who lost last year’s Europa League final to Sevilla, crashed out of the competition despite beating bottom-placed side Rosenborg. Italian side Lazio who were already assured of top spot before last night’s kick-off, played out a 1-1 draw against runners-up St Etienne.
Group H
Portuguese side Sporting CP beat Besiktas 3-1 in Lisbon in a crunch match which was to determine who would finish as runners-up between the two. Sporting now join group toppers Lokomotiv Moskva in the next round from the group who lost 3-0 to Skenderbeu.
Group I
Swiss side FC Basel topped Group I despite losing their final group stage match 1-0 away at Lech Poznan as they finished with 13 points. Meanwhile, early Serie A pace-setters Fiorentina could only finish second after a 1-0 win over Portugal’s Belenenses.
Group J
Tottenham hammered AS Monaco 4-1 at White Hart Lane courtesy of an Erik Lamela hat-trick as they finished on top of the group. Belgian side Anderlecht emerged as the runners-up as they beat Qarabag 2-1 in Brussels.
Group K
FC Schalke finished as group winners with 14 points after an impressive 4-0 thrashing of Greek side Asteras. Meanwhile, Sparta Prague of the Czech Republic won 3-1 away from home against APOEL Nicosia from Cyprus to finish behind Schalke.
Group L
Atletic Club and Augsburg emerged as toppers and runners-up from Group L respectively. The Spanish side were held to a 2-2 draw AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands whereas Augsburg won 3-1 away at FK Partizan only to progress ahead of the latter on goal difference.