Europa League

24 games were played on Thursday as Europa League group-stage action resumed.

Group A:

At Villarreal, Spain:

Luciano Vietto (26') and Denis Cheryshev (63') provided the scoring as Villarreal salvaged a 2-2 home draw with Borussia Monchengladbach.  Raffael Caetano de Araujo (55') and Granit Xhaka (67') each tallied once for the group-leading German club.

At Zurich, Switzerland:

Yassine Chikhaoui converted two penalty kicks (39', 59') as  FC Zurich defeated visiting Apollon Limassol 3-1, knocking the Cypriot club out of European competition.

GROUP A STANDINGS:

1.    Borussia Dortmund (GP: 5; +7; PTS: 9)
2.    Villarreal (GP: 5; GD: +6; PTS: 8)
3.    FC Zurich (GP: 5; GD: -1; PTS: 7)
4. z-Apollon Limassol (GP: 5; GD: -12; PTS: 3)

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group B:

At Turin, Italy:

Torino battled visiting Club Brugge to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Helsinki, Finland:

Macoumba Kandji scored the game-winning goal in the second minute of second-half stoppage time as HJK Helsinki eliminated visiting FC Copenhagen 2-1.

GROUP B STANDINGS:

1.   Club Brugge (GP: 5; GD: +7; PTS: 9)
2.   Torino (GP: 5; GD: +2; PTS: 8) 
3.   HJK Helsinki (GP: 5; GD: -5; PTS: 6)
4. z-FC Copenhagen (GP: 5; GD: -4; PTS: 4)

z-Eliminated from tournament




Group C:

At London:

Benjamin Stambouli scored the only goal of the match in the 49th minute as Tottenham Hotspur to lock up a berth in the knockout stage.

At Tripoli, Greece:

Demba Ba (15') and Gokhan Tore (PK-61') each scored once for Besiktas, whom despite blowing a two-goal lead and settling for a 2-2 road draw with Asteras Tripoli, still clinched a berth in the knockout stage.  Jeronimo Barrales (72') and Facundo Parra (83') each scored a goal for the Greek club, who were still eliminated from European competition.

GROUP C STANDINGS:

1. x-Tottenham Hotspur (GP: 5; GD: +6; PTS: 11)
2. x-Besiktas (GP: 5; GD: +5; PTS: 9)
3. z-Asteras Tripoli (GP: 5; GD: -3; PTS: 5)
4. z-Partizan Belgrade (GP: 5; GD: -8; PTS: 1)

x-Clinched berth in knockout stage

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group D:

At Glasgow, Scotland:
Alan Carvalho scored twice (8', 13') as FC Red Bull Salzburg held off Celtic 3-1 on the road.  Despite the defeat, the Bhoys still laid claim to a knockout-stage berth and will join their Austrian guests in the Round of 32.

At Giurgiu, Romania:

Sadat Bukari scored the only goal of the match as FC Astra Giurgiu knocked off Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 and eliminated the Croatian club from the tournament.

GROUP D STANDINGS:

1. xx-FC Red Bull Salzburg (GP: 5; GD: +9; PTS: 13)
2.   x-Celtic (GP: 5; GD: 0; PTS: 8)
3.   z-FC Astra Giurgiu (GP: 5; GD: -5; PTS: 4)
4.   z-Dinamo Zagreb (GP: 5; GD: -4; PTS: 3)

xx-Won Group D and clinched berth in knockout stage

x-Clinched berth in knockout stage

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group E:

At Khimki, Russia:

William Vainqueur (55') and Aleksei Ionov (61') delivered the goals as Dynamo Moscow locked up the Group E title with a 2-1 home win over Panathinaikos.

At Estoril, Portugal:

In a match that was suspended on Thursday due to heavy rainfall but was concluded on Friday, Memphis Depay (6'), Luciano Narsingh (14'), and Georginio Wijnaldum (82') each scored a goal as PSV Eindhoven blew a two-goal lead, fell behind, but came back to gain a 3-3 road draw with Estoril and locked up a berth in the knockout stage. Toze (12'), Kuca (30'), and Diogo Amado (39') each socred goal for the now-eliminated Portuguese club.

GROUP E STANDINGS:

1. xx-Dynamo Moscow (GP: 5; GD: +5; PTS: 15)
2.   x-PSV Eindhoven (GP: 5; GD: +1; PTS: 8) 
3.   z-Estoril (GP: 5; GD: -1; PTS: 4)
4.    z-Panathinaikos (GP: 5; GD: -5; PTS: 1)

xx-Won Group E and clinched berth in knockout stage
x-Clinched berth in knockout stage

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group F:

At Milan, Italy:

Dani Osvaldo scored the winning goal in the 50th minute as Inter Milan won the Group F title with their 2-1 home win over FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

At Saint-Etienne, France:

Ricky van Wolfswinkel's equalizer in the 21st minute enabled Saint-Etienne to salvage a 1-1 home draw with Qarabag FK.  Ruslan Rotan scored in the 16th minute for the Azerbaijani club.

GROUP F STANDINGS:

1. xx-Inter Milan (GP: 5; GD: +4; PTS: 11)
2.      Qarabag FK (GP: 5; GD: -2; PTS: 5)
3.      Saint-Etienne (GP: 5; GD: 0; PTS: 5)
4.      FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (GP: 5; GD: -2; PTS: 4)

xx-Won Group F and clinched berth in knockout stage

Group G:

At Rijeka, Croatia:

Moises Lima Magalhaes (26') and Andrej Kramaric (PK-34') delivered the goals as HNK Rijeka defeated visiting Standard Liege 2-1 and knocked the Belgian club our of the tournament.

At Rotterdam, Netherlands:

Jens Toornstra (56') and Karim El Ahmadi (83') produced the goals that enabled Feyenoord Rotterdam to clinch a berth in the knockout stage with their 2-0 home blanking of defending Europa League titlists Sevilla.

GROUP G STANDINGS:

1. x-Feyenoord Rotterdam (GP: 5; GD: +1; PTS: 9)
2.    Sevilla (GP: 5; GD: +2; PTS: 8)
3.    HNK Rijeka (GP: 5; GD: 0; PTS: 7)
4. z-Standard Liege (GP: 5; GD: -3; PTS: 4)

x-Clinched berth in knockout stage
z-Eliminated from tournament


Group H:
At Krasnodar, Russia:

Nolan Roux delivered the equalizer in the 79th minute as LOSC Lille Metropole kept their slim hopes of advancing alive with their 1-1 road draw with FC Krasnodar.  Ariclenes da Silva Ferreira scored in the 35th minute for the now-eliminated Russian club.

At Wolfsburg, Germany:

Romelu Lukaku (43') and Kevin Mirallas (76') each scored a goal as Everton locked up the Group H crown with a 2-0 road win over VfL Wolfsburg.

GROUP H STANDINGS:

1. xx-Everton (GP: 5; GD: +8; PTS: 11)
2.      VfL Wolfsburg (GP: 5; GD: +1; PTS: 7)
3.      LOSC Lille Metropole (GP: 5; GD: -3; PTS: 4)
4.   z-FC Krasnodar (GP: 5; GD: -6; PTS: 3)

xx-Won Group H and clinched berth in knockout stage
z-Eliminated from tournament


Group I:
At Bratislava, Slovakia:

Yuya Kubo scored twice (18', 63') as BSC Young Boys defeated FC Slovan Bratislava 3-1 on the road.

At Prague, Czech Republic:

The match between Sparta Prague and visiting Napoli ended in a 0-0 deadlock, which locked up a knockout-stage berth for the Italian club.

GROUP I STANDINGS:

1. x-Napoli (GP: 5; GD: +5; PTS: 10)
2.    Sparta Prague (GP: 5; GD: +7; PTS: 10)
3.    BSC Young Boys (GP: 5; GD: +4; PTS: 9)
4. z-FC Slovan Bratislava (GP: 5; GD: -16; PTS: 0)

x-Clinched berth in knockout stage

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group J:

At Aalborg, Denmark:

Thomas Enevoldsen scored the only goal of the match in the 72nd minute as Aalborg BK moved into second place in Group J following their 1-0 home win over Steaua Bucharest.

At Kiev, Ukraine:

Jeremain Lens (53') and Miguel Veloso (78') each scored a goal as Dynamo Kiev locked up a berth in the knockout stage by blanking visiting Rio Ave 2-0.

GROUP J STANDINGS:

1. x-Dynamo Kiev (GP: 5; GD: +6; PTS: 12)
2.    Aalborg BK (GP: 5; GD: -3; PTS: 9)
3.    Steaua Bucharest (GP: 5; GD: +4; PTS: 7)
4. z-Rio Ave (GP: 5; GD: -7; PTS: 1)

x-Clinched berth in knockout stage

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group K:

At Barysaw, Belarus:

Stefanos Athanasiadis scored twice (82', 88') as PAOK FC defeated already-eliminated Dinamo Minsk 2-0 on the road. 

At Guingamp, France:

Marko Marin (6') and Khouma Babacar (13') produced the goalpower that carried Fiorentina to a 2-1 road win over Guingamp as the Italian club locked up the Group K title.

GROUP K STANDINGS:

1. xx-Fiorentina (GP: 5; GD: +8; PTS: 13)
2.      Guingamp (GP: 5; GD: 0; PTS: 7)
3.      PAOK FC (GP: 5; GD: +4; PTS: 7)
4.   z-FC Dinamo Minsk (GP: 5; GD: -12; PTS: 1)

xx-Won Group K and clinched berth in knockout stage

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group L:

At Trabzon, Turkey:

Mehmet Ekici scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 86th minute as Trabzonspor clinched a berth in the knockout stage with a 3-1 home win over FC Metalist Kharkiv.

At Lokeren, Belgium:
Hans Vanaken scored the only goal of the match in the seventh minute as Lokeren knocked off knockout-stage-bound Legia Warsaw 1-0 at home.  The win did the Belgian club no good, though, as because of Trabzonspor's win over Metalist, they were still eliminated from the tournament.

GROUP L STANDINGS:

1. x-Legia Warsaw (GP: 5; GD: +3; PTS: 12)
2. x-Trabzonspor (GP: 5; GD: +4; PTS: 10)
3.     Lokeren (GP: 5; GD: -1; PTS: 7)
4. z-FC Metalist Kharkiv (GP: 5; GD: -6; PTS: 0)

x-Clinched berth in knockout stage

z-Eliminated from tournament