Europa League

The second half of Europa League group-stage action opened on Thursday with 24 games.

Group A:

At Zurich, Switzerland:

Yassine Chikhaoui scored the winning goal for FC Zurich in the 29th minute in a match in which all five goals were scored in the first half-hour.  The hosts defeated visiting Villarreal 3-2.

At Nicosia, Cyprus:

Raffael Caetano de Araujo (56') and Patrick Herrmann (90'+5) delivered the goals as Borussia Monchengladbach defeated Apollon Limassol 2-0 on the road.

GROUP A STANDINGS:

1. Borussia Monchengladbach (GP: 4; GD: +7; PTS: 8)
2. Villarreal (GP: 4; GD: +6; PTS: 7)
3. FC Zurich (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 4)
4. Apollon Limassol (GP: 4; GD: -10; PTS: 3)



Group B:

At Helsinki, Finland:

Valtteri Moren scored the winning goal inthe 81st minute as HJK Helsinki knocked off visiting Torino 2-1.

At Copenhagen, Denmark:

Lior Relaelov delivered a natural first-half hat trick (7', 30', 36') as Club Brugge demolished FC Copenhagen 4-0 on the road.

GROUP B STANDINGS:

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



Group C:

At Tripoli, Greece:

Harry Kane scored the game winner in the 42nd minute as Tottenham Hotspur defeated Asteras Tripoli 2-1 on the road.

At Istanbul, Turkey:

Demba Ba scored twice (PK-57', 62') as Besiktas defeated visiting Partizan Belgrade 2-1 and eliminated the Serbian club from the tournament and European competition.

GROUP C STANDINGS:

1.    Besiktas (GP: 4; GD: +5; PTS: 8)
2.    Tottenham Hotspur (GP: 4; GD: +5; PTS: 8)
3.    Asteras Tripoli (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 4)
4. z-Partizan Belgrade (GP: 4; GD: -7; PTS: 1)

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group D:

At Giurgiu, Romania:

William Amorim's equalizer in the 79th minute enabled FC Astra Giurgiu to salvage a 1-1 home draw with Celtic.  The draw did the Romanian club no good as they were eliminated from the tournament.  Stefan Johansen scored for the Bhoys in the 32nd minute.

At Zagreb, Croatia:

Jonathan Soriano delivered a hat trick (40', 64', 85') as FC Red Bull Salzburg clinched a berth in the knockout stage with their 5-1 road demolition of Dinamo Zagreb.

GROUP D STANDINGS:

1. x-FC Red Bull Salzburg (GP: 4; GD: +7; PTS: 10)
2.    Celtic (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 8)
3.    Dinamo Zagreb (GP: 4; GD: -3; PTS: 3)
4. z-FC Astra Giurgiu (GP: 4; GD: -6; PTS: 1)

x-Clinched berth in knockout stage

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group E:

At Khimki, Russia:

Kevin Kuranyi scored the only goal in the 77th minute as Dynamo Moscow laid claim to a berth in the knockout stage with a 1-0 home victory over Estoril.

At Athens:

Georginio Wijnaldum scored the winning goal in the 78th minute as PSV Eindhoven knocked Panathinaikos out of the tournament 3-2 on the road.

GROUP E STANDINGS:

1. x-Dynamo Moscow (GP: 4; GD: +4; PTS: 12)
2.     PSV Eindhoven (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 7)
3.     Estoril (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 3)
4.  z-Panathinaikos (GP: 4; GD: -4; PTS: 1)

x-Clinched berth in knockout stage

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group F:

At Baku, Azerbaijan:

Nikola Kalinic scored twice (15', 73') as FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk defeated Qarabag FK 2-1 on the road.

At Saint-Etienne, France:

Moustapha Bayal Sall's 50th-minute equalizer lifted Saint-Etienne to a 1-1 home draw with Inter Milan.  Dodo scored for the Nerazzurri in the 33rd minute.

GROUP F STANDINGS:

1. Inter Milan (GP: 4; GD: +3; PTS: 8)
2. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 4)
3. Qarabag FK (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 4)
4. Saint-Etienne (GP: 4; GD: 0; PTS: 4)



Group G:

At Rotterdam, Netherlands:

Karim El Ahmadi (8') and Lex Immers (20') each delivered a goal as Feyenoord Rotterdam blanked visiting HNK Rijeka 2-0.

At Seville, Spain:

Jose Antonio Reyes scored what proved to be the game winner in the 41st minute as Sevilla defeated visiting Standard Liege 3-1.

GROUP G STANDINGS:

1. Sevilla (GP: 4; GD: +4; PTS: 8)
2. Feyenoord Rotterdam (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 6)
3. Standard Liege (GP: 4; GD: -1; PTS: 4)
4. HNK Rijeka (GP: 4; GD: -2; PTS: 4)



Group H:

At Wolfsburg, Germany:

Aaron Hunt (47', 57') and Nicklas Bendtner (PK-89', 90'+1) each scored twice in the second half as VfL Wolfsburg hammered visiting FC Krasnodar 5-1.

At Liverpool, England:

Leon Osman (27'), Phil Jagielka (42'), and Steven Naismith (61') each delivered a goal as Everton dominated visiting LOSC Lille Metropole 3-0.

GROUP H STANDINGS:

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



Group I:

At Prague, Czech Republic:

David Lafata scored twice (29', 84') as Sparta Prague demolished visiting FC Slovan Bratislava 4-0, eliminating the Slovakian club from the tournament while staying level on points with Napoli for first place in Group I.

At Naples, Italy:

Jonathan De Guzman's hat trick (45'+2, 65', 83') provided all the scoring in Napoli's 3-0 home domination of BSC Young Boys.

GROUP I STANDINGS:

1.    Napoli (GP: 4; GD: +5; PTS: 9)
2.    Sparta Prague (GP: 4; GD: +7; PTS: 9)
3.    BSC Young Boys (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 6)
4. z-FC Slovan Bratislava (GP: 4; GD: -14; PTS: 0)

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group J:

At Kiev, Ukarine:

Domagoj Vida (70') and Oleh Husyev (90'+3) provided the scoring as Dynamo Kiev blanked visiting Aalborg BK 2-0.

At Vila do Conde, Portugal:

Claudiu Keseru (61') and Lucian Filip (90'+4) provided the goals that carried Steaua Bucharest to a 2-2 road draw with Rio Ave.  Diego Lopes provided both goals (35', PK-77') for the now-eliminated Portuguese club.

GROUP J STANDINGS:

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

z-Eliminated from tournament



Group K:

At Guingamp, France:

Claudio Beauvue (44') and Christophe Mandanne (86') each delivered a goal to carry Guingamp to a 2-0 home win over Dinamo Minsk.

At Florence, Italy:

Manuel Pasqual equalized in the 88th minute and lifted Fiorentina to a 1-1 home draw with PAOK FC.  Maarten Martens scored in the 81st minute for the Greek club.

GROUP K STANDINGS:

1. x-Fiorentina (GP:4; GD: +7; PTS: 10)
2.     Guingamp (GP: 4; GD: +1; PTS: 7)
3.     PAOK FC (GP: 4; GD: +2; PTS: 4)
4.     FC Dinamo Minsk (GP: 4; GD: -10; PTS: 1)

x-Clinched berth in knockout stage



Group L:

At Lokoren, Belgium:

Abdul Majeed Waris delivered the equalizer in the second minute of first-half stoppage time to carry Trabzonspor to a 1-1 road draw with Lokeren.  Ayanda Patosi scored in the fifth minute for the Belgian club.

At Warsaw, Poland:

Ondrej Duda scored the winning goal in the 84th minute as Legia Warsaw locked up a berth in the knockout stage by eliminating visiting FC Metalist Kharkiv 2-1.

GROUP L STANDINGS:

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

x-Clinched berth in knockout stage

z-Eliminated from tournament