Europa League: Group Stage Play Concludes

Group-stage play in the Europa League concluded this week.  All the action summarized took place on Thursday unless otherwise noted.

Group A:

At Bern, Switzerland:

Moreno Costanzo scored what proved to be the winning goal in the 52nd minute as BSC Young Boys defeated visiting FC Anzhi Makhachkala 3-1. Despite the win, Young Boys, due to inferior head-to-head record with Liverpool and FC Anzhi, were still eliminated.

At Udine, Italy:

Jordan Henderson scored the only goal of the match as Liverpool won the Group A crown with a 1-0 road win over Udinese.

FINAL GROUP A STANDINGS:

1. Liverpool (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 10)
2. FC Anzhi Makhachkala (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 10)
3. BSC Young Boys (GP: 6; GD: +1; PTS: 10)
4. Udinese (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 4)

Liverpool and FC Anzhi Makhachkala (thanks to their better head-to-had record vis-a-viv BSC Young Boys) advanced to the knockout stage of the Europa League.

Group B:

At Tel Aviv, Israel:

Victor Merey (56') and Hanan Maman (80') each scored a goal as Hapoel Tel Aviv concluded their European adventure with a 2-0 home win over Academica de Coimbra.

At Plzen, Czech Republic:

Vaclav Prochazka scored the only goal on the 26th minute as FC Viktoria Plzen won the Group B title by defeating fellow Round-of-32 qualifiers (and defending titleholders) Atletico Madrid 1-0.

FINAL GROUP B STANDINGS:

1. FC Victoria Plzen (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 13)
2. Atletico Madrid (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 12)
3. Academica de Coimbra (GP: 6; GD: -3; PTS: 5)
4. Hapoel Tel Aviv FC (GP: 6; GD: -7; PTS: 4)

Group C:

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Orlando Sa (41'), Edmar (79'), and Chris Dickson (82') each scored a goal as AEL Limassol dominated visiting Marseille 3-0 in the tournament finale for both clubs.

at Istanbul, Turkey:

Tolga Cigerci (23'), Mike Hanke (PK-28'), and Luuk de Jong (79') each scored a goal as Borussia Monchengladbach dominated group winners Fenerbahce 3-0 on the road as both clubs advanced to the knockout stage.

FINAL GROUP C STANDINGS:

1. Fenerbahce (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 13)
2. Borussia Monchengladbach (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 11)
3. Marseille (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 5)
4. AEL Limassol (GP: 6; GD: -6; PTS: 4)

Group D:

At Funchal, Portugal:

Heldon scored the winning goal in the 87th minute as CS Maritimo defeated visiting Club Brugge 2-1.

At Bordeaux, France:

In a battle of the two knockout-stage qualifiers from Group D, Cheick Diabate scored both goals (29', 73') as Bordeaux defeated visiting Newcastle United to lay cliam to the group title.

FINAL GROUP D STANDINGS:

1. Bordeaux (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 13)
2. Newcastle United (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 9)
3. CS Maritimo (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 6)
4. Club Brugge (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 4)

Bordeaux and Newcastle United advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.

Group E:

At Stuttgart, Germany:

Davy Angan scored the only goal of the match in first-half stoppage time (45'+1) as Molde FK, already eliminated from the tournament, showed plenty of heart in their 1-0 road win over VfB Stuttgart.

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

Igor Vetokele's equalizer in the 87th minute carried FC Copenhagen to a 1-1 home draw with Steaua Bucharest.  Rual Rusescu scored at 72 minutes for the visiting Romanian club.  The host Lions needed a win to advance to the knockout stage.

FINAL GROUP E STANDINGS:

1. Steaua Bucharest (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 11)
2. VfB Stuttgart (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 8)
3. FC Copenhagen (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 8)
4. Molde FK (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 6)

Steaua Bucharest and VfB Stuttgart (with a win and a draw versus FC Copenhagen) advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.

Group F:

At Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine:

Roman Zozulya scored twice (59', 82') as FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk hammered visiting AIK 4-0.

At Naples, Italy:

Tim Matavz delivered a natural hat trick (30', 41', 60') as PSV Eindhoven downed homestanding Napoli 3-1.

FINAL GROUP F STANDINGS:

1. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (GP: 6; GD: +8; PTS: 15)
2. Napoli (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 9)
3. PSV Eindhoven (GP: 6; GD: +1; PTS: 7)
4. AIK Solna (GP: 6; GD: -9; PTS: 4)

Group G:

At Genk, Belgium:

In a battle of Group G's two knockout-stage-qualified clubs, FC Basel held hosts KRC Genk to a 0-0 stalemate.

At Lisbon:

In the lone Friday Europa League contest, Valentin Viola scored the winning goal in the 82nd minute as
Sporting CP defeated visiting Videoton 2-1.

FINAL GROUP G STANDINGS:

1. KRC Genk(GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 12)
2. FC Basel (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 9)
3. Videoton FC (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 6)
4. Sporting CP (GP: 6; GD: -6; PTS: 5)

KRC Genk and FC Basel advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.

Group H:

At Milan, Italy:

Nicolas Canales scored the winning goal in the 89th minute as Neftchi Baku knocked off Inter Milan 2-1 on the road

At Belgrade, Serbia:

Jose Rondon's 59th-minute equalizer lifted Rubin Kazan to a 1-1 road draw with Partizan Belgrade.  Sasa Markovic scored for the already-eliminated Serbian club in the 53rd minute.

FINAL GROUP H STANDINGS:

1. FC Rubin Kazan (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 14)
2. Inter Milan (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 11)
3. Partizan Belgrade (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 3)
4. Neftchi Baku PFC (GP: 6; GD: -4; PTS: 3)

FC Rubin Kazan and Inter Milan advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.
Group I:

At Lyon, France:

Mouhamadou-Naby Sarr (15') and Yassine Benzia (58') each delivered a goal as Lyon blanked visiting Ironi Kiryat Shmona 2-0.

At Bilbao, Spain:

Sparta Prague, who, like Lyon, will play in the Europa League's knockout stage, battle hosts Athletic Bilboa, who, like Ironi Kiryat Shmona, will not, to a 0-0 stalemate.

FINAL GROUP I STANDINGS:

1. Lyon (GP: 6; GD: +6; PTS: 16)
2. Sparta Prague (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 9)
3. Athletic Bilbao (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 5)
4. Ironi Kiryat Shmona FC (GP: 6; GD: -7; PTS: 2)

Group J:

At Maribor, Slovenia:

Sergio Floccari scored twice (38', 51') as Lazio dominated NK Maribor 4-1 on the road.

At London:

Orestis Karnezis' own goal in the 76th minute proved fatal to any hope Panathinaikos had of advancing to the Round of 32 as Tottenham Hotspur clinched second plae in the Group J with their 3-1 home win over the Shamrock.

FINAL GROUP J STANDINGS:

1. Lazio (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 12)
2. Tottenham Hotspur (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 10)
3. Panathinaikos (GP: 6; GD: -7; PTS: 5)
4. NK Maribor (GP: 6; GD: -3; PTS: 3)

Lazio and Tottenham Hotspur advanced to the knockout stage of the Europa League.

Group K:

At Vienna, Austria:

Deni Alar scored the only goal of the match in the 13th minute as Rapid Vienna defeated knockout-stage-bound FC Metalist Kharkiv 1-0 at home.

At Leverkusen, Germany:

Julian Riedel scored the only goal of the match in the 65th minute as Bayer Leverkusen, who already locked up a berth in the Round of 32, blanked visiting Rosenborg 1-0.

FINAL GROUP K STANDINGS:

1. FC Metalist Kharkiv (GP: 6; GD: +6; PTS: 13)
2. Bayer Leverkusen (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 13)
3. Rosenborg BK (GP: 6; GD: -3; PTS: 6)
4. Rapid Vienna (GP: 6; GD: -10; PTS: 3)

FC Metalist Kharkiv and Bayer Leverkusen advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.  With a win and a draw against the German club, Metalist won Group K.

Group L:

At Valencia, Spain:

Vicente Iborra's equalizer (90'+4) enabled Valencia to gain a 2-2 home draw with Hannover 96 as both clubs are heading for the knockout stage.

At Enschede, Netherlands:

Alejandro Bejoya scored the winning goal in the 21st minute as Helsingborg held off hosts FC Twente 3-1. 

FINAL GROUP L STANDINGS:

1. Hannover 96 (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 12)
2. Levante (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 11)
3. Helsingborgs IF (GP: 6; GD: -3; PTS: 4)
4. FC Twente (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 4)

Hannover 96 and Levante advanced to the Europa League's knockout stage.