The semifinal round of the Europa League concluded with two games on Thursday.
At Braga, Portugal:
Castro Custodio scored the only goal of the match at 18 minutes )pictured here) as Sporting Braga defeated visiting Benfica 1-0 in game two of their two-match series, and with the score at 2-2 on aggregate, won the series due to the away goals rule. Braga will be heading to the first major European final in club history.
Associated Press photo
At Villarreal, Spain:
Despite dropping a 3-2 game-two decision on the road against Villarreal, FC Porto advanced to the Europa League final by winning their two-match series 7-4 on aggregate. The Dragons will face Sporting Braga in the final set for Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland on May 18. Here's Falcao, scoring one of the two Porto goals at 48 minutes, pictured here.
Gerry Images photo
The semifinal round of the Europa League opened with two games on Thursday.
At Lisbon, Portugal:
Oscar Cardozo scored the winning goal at 59 minutes (pictured here) as Benfica took the opening game of their two-match all-Portuguese series with Sporting Braga 2-1.
At Porto, Portugal:
After trailing 1-0 at halftime, FC Porto all but assured of an all-Portuguese Europa League final next month in Dublin with a 5-1 series-opening home fistbeating of Villarreal. Radamel Falcao Garcia scored four, count 'em, four goals (PK-49', 67', 75', 90', that's him celebrating after scoring his first goal).
Both photos from Getty Images
The quarterfinal round of the Europa League concluded as all four series had their second games on Thursday.
At Moscow:
Five different goal scorers---Givaldinho Hulk (28'), Cristian Rodriguez (45'), Fredy Guarin (47'), Falcao (54'), and Ruben Micael (89')---each tallied once as FC Porto dominated Spartak Moscow 5-2 on the road in match two of their two-game series to complete their domination of the Russian club 10-3 on aggregate.
At Eindhoven, Netherlands:
Anderson Luisao (45') and Oscar Cardozo (PK-63') each scored a goal as SL Benfica gained a 2-2 road draw with PSV Eindhoven in game two and won their two-game series 6-3 on aggregate.
At Enschede, Netherlands:
Villarreal, with goals coming from Giuseppe Rossi (PK-59'), Marco Ruben (PK-83'), and Cani (89'), took match two on the road 3-1 over FC Twente and took out the Dutch club 8-2 on aggregate.
At Braga, Portugal:
A 0-0 deadlock at home in game two was good enough for FC Porto as they won their two-match series with Dynamo Kiev on away goals, with the aggregate score at 1-1.
For the semifinal round, Sporting Braga will take on SL Benfica at home in the opening round of an all-Portuguese two-match series on April 28, with the return match at Lisbon on May 5.
In the other semifinal series, FC Porto will host Villarreal in the opener on April 28, with the Yellow Submarine hosting the return match the following Thursday.
The quarterfinal round of the Europa League got underway on Thursday with the opening contests of all four respective two-game series.
At Lisbon, Portugal:
Eduardo Salvio scored twice (45', 51') as SL Benfica dominted visiting PSV Eindhoven 4-1 on the opening contest of their two-game series.
At Kiev Ukraine:
Ognjen Vukojevic's own goal at 14 provided what may be a precious away goal for Sporting Braga as the Portuguese club gained a 1-1 game-one road draw with Dynamo Kiev. Andriy Yarmolenko scored for the hosts at 6 minutes.
At Porto, Portugal:
Radamel Falcao Garcia delivered a hat trick (38', 84', 90') as FC Porto blasted visiting Spartak Moscow 5-1 in the opening contest of their two-game series.
At Villarreal, Spain:
Nilmar tallied twice (45', 80') as Villarreal battered visiting FC Twente 5-1 in their series opener.
The draw for the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the Europa League took place at Nyon, Switzerland on Friday.
Quarterfinal round:
The opening contests of the respective two-match series are set to take place on April 7 with the return matches to take place on April 14.
Here are the matchups with the game-one hosts listed first:
FC Porto vs. Spartak Moscow
SL Benfica vs. PSV Eindhoven
Villarreal vs. FC Twente
Sporting Braga vs. Dynamo Kiev
Semifinal round:
The opening matches are scheduled to take place on April 28 with the return contests set for May 5.
Here are the matchups with the game-one hosts listed first:
SC Braga-Dynamo Kiev winner vs. Benfica-PSV winner
Porto-Spartak Moscow winner vs. Villarreal-FC Twente winner
The final is set for Dublin, Ireland on May 18.
The Round of 16 in the Europa League concluded on Thursday with the second game of each of the eight two-game series.
At Manchester, England:
Despite dropping a 1-0 game-two decision on the road to Manchester City, Dynamo Kiev still won their two-game series 2-1 on aggregate.
At Paris:
A 1-1 draw on the road with Paris Saint-Germain enabled SL Benfica to win their two-game series 3-2 on aggregate. Nicolas Gaitan scored for the Eagles at 27 minutes.
At Moscow:
Dmitri Kombarov (21'), Welliton (30'), and Alex (54') each delivered a goal as Spartak Moscow dominated the second game of their series with Ajax Amsterdam, taking the contest 3-0 at home and the series 4-0 on aggregate.
At Saint Petersburg, Russia:
Despite a 2-0 game-two defeat on the road, FC Twente still managed to win their two-game series with Zenit Saint Petersburg 3-2 on aggregate.
At Porto, Portugal:
Goals from Givaldinho Hulk (2') and Fredy Guarin (24') carried FC Porto to a 2-1 home win in game two with CSKA Moscow, enabling the Dragons to take out the Horses 3-1 on aggregate.
At Liverpool, England:
A 0-0 stalemate in game two on the road carried Sporting Braga to a 1-0 series win on aggregate against Liverpool.
At Glasgow, Scotland:
Jermain Lens scored the only goal of both the game and the match (13') as PSV Eindhoven defeated Rangers 1-0 on the road in game two and won their two-game series 1-0 on aggregate.
At Villarreal, Spain:
Santi Cazorla (33') and Giuseppe Rossi (61') each scored once as Villarreal took game two at home 2-1 and won their two-game series with Bayer Leverkusen 5-3 on aggregate.
The Europa League's Round of 16 opened with eight games on Thursday.
At Leverkusen, Germany:
Nilmar scored twice (70', 90'+4), including the game winner as Villarreal took the opening game of their two-match series with Bayer Leverkusen, winning 3-2 on the road.
At Braga, Portugal:
Ororio Costa Silva Alan scored the only goal of the match at 18 minutes with his successful penalty kick as Sporting Braga topped visiting Liverpool 1-0 in their series opener.
At Moscow:
Fredy Guarin's goal at 70 minutes provided all the scoring in FC Porto's 1-0 series-opening road win over CSKA Moscow.
At Eindhoven, Netherlands:
With backup goalkeeper Neil Alexander coming up with a clean sheet, Rangers held hosts PSV Eindhoven to a game-one 0-0 stalemate.
At Amsterdam, Netherlands:
Alex provided the only goal of the match at 57 minutes as Spartak Moscow defeated Ajax Amsterdam 1-0 on the road in game one of their two-match series.
At Lisbon, Portugal:
Maxi Pereira (42') and Franco Jara (81') provided thw goalpower as SL Benfica came from behind to overtake visiting Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the opening match of their two-game set.
At Kiev, Ukraine:
Andriy Shevchenko (25') and Oleg Gusev (77') each provided a goal as Dynamo Kiev took the opening contest of their series with Manchester United, blanking the visiting Citizens 2-0.
At Enschede, Netherlands:
Luuk de Jong scored twice (25', 90'+2) as FC Twente dominated visiting Zenit Saint Petersburg 3-0 in game one of their two-match series.
The opening knockout round---the Round of 32---in the Europa League concluded with the return contests from the remaining 14 two-game series on Thursday.
At Saint Petersburg, Russia:
Danko Lazovic (41'), Sergei Semak (52'), and Roman Shirokov (76') each scored once as Zenit Saint Petersburg overturned their game-one 2-1 defeat with a 3-1 home win in game two to eliminate BSC Young Boys 4-3 on aggregate.
At Leverkusen, Germany:
Simon Rolfes (47') and Michael Ballack (70') each delivered a second-half goal as Bayer Leverkusen blanked visiting FC Metalist Kharkiv 2-0 in game two to complete their two-game beatdown of the Ukrainian club 6-0 on aggregate.
At Liverpool, England:
Dirk Kuyt scored the lone goal of not only game two, but the match as well, at 86 minutes as Liverpool defeated visiting Spart Prague 1-0 in game two and by that score on aggregate to advance to the Round of 16.
At Eindhoven, Netherlands:
Balazs Dzsudzsak (55'), Jeremain Lens (67'), and Antonio Marcelo (73') each scored once as PSV Eindhoven defeated visiting Lille 3-1 in game two and won their two-game series 5-3 on aggregate.
At Moscow:
Aiden McGeady scored late (90'+1) to secure a game-two 1-1 home deadlock for Spartak Moscow, enough for them to win their two-game series with FC Basel 4-3 on aggregate.
At Lisbon, Portugal:
Maurice Edu scored the series-winning goal (90'+2) as Rangers secured a 2-2 road draw with Sporting and, with the aggregate score at 3-3, won their two-game series with the Lions on away goals.
At Villarreal, Spain:
Goals from Nilmar (42') and Giuseppe Rossi (45') enabled Villarreal to come from behind to edge visiting Napoli in game two of their two-match series 2-1 and win the series by that same score, 2-1, on aggregate.
At Amsterdam, Netherlands:
Miralem Sulejmani scored both goals early (11', 16') as Ajax Amsterdam blanked visiting RSC Anderlecht 2-0 in game two and took out the Belgian club rather handily in their two-game series 5-0 on aggregate.
At Braga, Portugal:
Sporting Braga, thanks to goals from Osorio Costa Silva Alan (9') and Lima (36'), overturned their defeat from last week in Poland with a 2-0 home win over Lech Poznan in game two and won their series 2-1 on aggregate.
At Kiev, Ukraine:
Andriy Yarmolenko (55', 74') scored twice as Dynamo Kiev once again dominated visiting Besiktas 4-0 in game two to complete their two-match demolition of the Turkish club 8-1 on aggregate.
At Manchester, England:
Edin Dzeko scored twice in the opening dozen minutes (7', 12') as Manchester City, following last week's scoreless stalemate in Greece, overpowered visiting Aris Salonika in game two 3-0, the same score in which the Citizens won the series on aggregate.
At Enschede, Netherlands:
Theo Janssen (45') and Douglas Franco (47') each delivered a tally as FC Twente took game two at home, 2-0, over FK Rubin Kazan, and took out the Russian club, 4-2 on aggregate.
At Stuttgart, Germany:
SL Benfica, thanks to goals from Eduardo Salvio (31') and Oscar Cardozo (78'), defeated VfB Stuttgart 2-0 on the road in game two, and won their two-match series with the struggling German Bundesliga club 4-1 on aggregate.
At Paris:
A 0-0 home stalemate in game two against BATE Borisov was good enough for Paris Saint-Germain as the French club, thanks to the away goals rule, won their series 2-2 on aggregate.
Here are the matchups for the Round of 16, with the opening contests taking place on March 10 and the return matches on March 17:
The clubs hosting the opening games are listed first.
SL Benfica vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Dynamo Kiev vs. Manchester City
FC Twente vs. Zenit Saint Petersburg
CSKA Moscow vs. FC Porto
PSV Eindhoven vs. Rangers
Bayer Leverkusen vs. Villarreal
Ajax Amsterdam vs. Spartak Moscow
Liverpool vs. Sporting Braga
At Porto, Portugal:
Despite dropping game two of their two-game Europa League Round of 16 series 1-0 on Wednesday, FC Porto, with the aggregate score at 2-2, still eliminated Sevilla from the tournament on away goals.
The Dragons will get their shot at CSKA Moscow in the Round of 16.
At Moscow:
Sergei Ignashevich scored the series-winning goal at 80 minutes as CSKA Moscow gained a 1-1 home draw Tuesday in game two of their Europa League Round of 32 two-game series with PAOK Salonika and took the series 2-1 on aggregate. The Horses will take on the winner of the Sevilla-FC Porto series in the Round of 16. The Dragons currently lead their two-game set with their Spanish opponents 2-1 on aggregate.
Fifteen two-game series opened on Thursday as the opening week of group stage play in the Europa League came to a climax.
At Moscow:
In a contest moved from Kazan due to severe winter conditions, Luuk de Jong (77') and Peter Wisgerhof (88') provided the late goal power as FC Twente defeated FK Rubin Kazan 2-0 in the opening contest of their two-game total-goals series.
At Kharkiv, Ukraine:
Sidney Sam scored twice at the death (90', 90'+2) as Bayern Leverkusen ransacked hosts FC Metalist Kharkiv 4-0 in game one.
At Naples, Italy:
The opening match between Napoli and visiting Villarreal ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
At Brussels, Belgium:
Toby Alderweireld (33'), Christian Eriksen (59'), and Mounir El Hamdaoui (67') each delivered a goal as Ajax Amsterdam dominted the opening game of their two-match series with RSC Anderlecht, beating the Belgian club 3-0 on the road.
At Poznan, Poland:
Artjoms Rudnevs scored the only goal of the match at 72 minutes as Lech Poznan blanked visiting Sporting Braga 1-0 in the opening match of their two-game set.
At Istanbul, Turkey:
Ognjen Vukojevic (27'), Andriy Shevchenko (50'), Aylila Yussuf (57'), and Oleg Gusey (PK-90') each tallied once as Dynamo Kiev placed themselves 45 minutes from the Round of 16 with an impressive 4-1 series-opening road win over Besiktas.
At Lisbon, Portugal:
Franco Jara scored the game winner at 81 minutes as SL Benfica came from behind to nip visiting VfL Stuttgart 2-1 in game one of their two-game series.
At Minsk, Belarus:
Thanks to goals from Mevlut Erding (30') and Peguy Luyindula (89'), Paris Saint-Germain have a real shot of winning their two-game series with BATE Borisov following their 2-2 road draw. Renan Bressan (16') and Mikhail Gordeychuk (81') each tallied once for the Belorussian club.
At Glasgow, Scotland:
Matias Fernandez's equalizer at 89 minutes enabled Sporting to gain a 1-1 road draw with Rangers in the opening game of their two-match Round of 32 series. Steven Whittaker scored at 65 minutes for 'Gers.
At Prague, Czech Republic:
The opening contest between Sparta Prague and visiting Liverpool ended in a 0-0 deadlock.
At Basel, Switzerland:
Dmitri Kombarov (60'), Artem Dzjuba (70'), and Zhano Ananidze (90'+3) delivered the goalpower that allowed Spartak Moscow to erase a two-goal deficit and knock off FC Basel 3-2 on the road in game one of their two-match set.
At Bern, Switzerland:
Emmanuel Mayuka scored the game-winning goal in second-half stoppage time (90'+4) as BSC Young Boys came from behind to defeat visiting Zenit Saint Petersburg 2-1 in game one. Senad Lulic also scored for the Young Boys at 45 minutes, while Nicolas Lombaerts scored for Zenit at 19 minutes to keep the Russian club in the series.
At Thessaloniki, Greece:
Tomas Necid scored the lone goal of the match at 29 minutes as CSKA Moscow took game one of their two-game series with PAOK Salonika 1-0 on the road.
At Seville, Spain:
Fredy Guarin scored the game-winning goal at 85 minutes as FC Porto took their series opener on the road over Sevilla 2-1.
At Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France:
Wilfred Bouma and Ola Toivonen each scored a goal at 84 minutes as PSV Eindhoven came back from two goals down to gain a 2-2 series-opening road draw with LOSC Lille Metropole. Idrissa Gana Gueye (6') and Vinicius Tulio De Melo (30') each tallied once for the Mastiffs.
At Thessaloniki, Greece:
Tuesday's opening match of their two-game series, the opening contest of the knockout stage of the Europa League, played between visiting Manchester City and Aris Salonika ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
At Nyon, Switzerland:
The draw for the Round of 16 in the UEFA Champions League took place on Friday.
The opening matches of the respective two-game sets will be played on February 15/16 and 22/23, with the return contests on March 8/9 and 15/16.
The clubs hosting the opening contests are listed first.
AS Roma vs. Shakhtar Donetsk
AC Milan vs. Tottenham Hotspur
Valencia vs. FC Schalke
Inter Milan vs. Bayern Munich
Lyon vs. Real Madrid
Arsenal vs. Barcelona
Marseille vs. Manchester United
FC Copenhagen vs. Chelsea
Friday also marked the draw for the Rounds of 32 and 16 in the Europa League.
Here are the matchups for the first knockout round with the opening contests in their respective two-game series taking place on February 17 with the return contests on February 24.
The host clubs of the opening contests are listed first.
Napoli vs. Villarreal
Rangers vs. Sporting
Sparta Prague vs. Liverpool
RSC Anderlecht vs. Ajax Amsterdam
Lech Poznan vs. SC Braga
Besiktas vs. Dynamo Kiev
FC Basel vs. Spartak Moscow
BSC Young Boys vs. Zenit Saint Petersburg
Aris Thessaloniki vs. Manchester City
PAOK FC vs. CSKA Moscow
Sevilla vs. FC Porto
Rubin Kazan vs. FC Twente
LOSC Lille Metropole vs. PSV Eindhoven
SL Benfica vs. VfB Stuttgart
FC BATE Borisov vs. Paris Saint-Germain
Metalist Kharkiv vs. Bayer Leverkusen
The matchups for the Round of 16 with the opening contests on March 10 and the return matches on March 16. The host clubs are listed first.
Benfica/Stuttgart winners vs. BATE Borisov/PSG winners
Besiktas/Dynamo Kiev winners vs. Aris Thessaloniki/Manchester City winners
Rubin Kazan/FC Twente winners vs. Young Boys/Zenit winners
PAOK FC/CSKA Moscow winners vs. Sevilla/FC Porto winners
Lille/PSV winners vs. Rangers/Sporting winners
Metalist Kharkiv/Bayer Leverkusen winners vs. Napoli/Villarreal winners
Anderlecht/Ajax winners vs. FC Basel/Spartak Moscow winners
Sparta Prague/Liverpool winners vs. Lech Poznan/SC Braga winners
Twelve games were played on Thursday as group stage play in the Europa League came to a close.
Group A:
At Walz-Siezenheim, Austria:
Semir Stilic scored the only goal of the match at 30 minutes as Lech Poznan defeated Red Bull Salzburg 1-0 on the road.
At Turin, Italy:
Jo's equalizer at 76 minutes enabled Manchester City to gain a 1-1 road draw with Juventus, good enough to secure first place in Group A for the visiting Citizens.
FINAL GROUP A STANDINGS:
1. Manchester City (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 11)
2. Lech Poznan (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 11)
3. Juventus (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 6)
4. Red Bull Salzburg (GP: 6; GD: -8; PTS: 2)
Manchester United and Lech Poznan advanced to the knockout stage.
Group B:
At Thessaloniki, Greece:
With Danijel Cesarec (45') and Ricardo Faty (45') providing the goals, Aris Salonika advanced to the knockout stage with a 2-0 home win over Rosenborg.
At Leverkusen, Germany:
With Patrick Helmes scoring at 69 minutes, Bayer Leverkusen gained a 1-1 draw with guests Atletico Madrid. The draw, coupled with Aris Salonika's home win over Rosenborg, eliminating the visiting defending cupholders from the tournament.
FINAL GROUP B STANDINGS:
1. Bayer Leverkusen (GP: 6; GD: +6; PTS: 12)
2. Aris Salonika (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 10)
3. Atletico Madrid (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 8)
4. Rosenborg BK (GP: 6; GD: -10; PTS: 3)
Bayer Leverkusen ad Aris Salonika advanced to the knockout stage.
Group C:
At Villeneuve-d'Ascq, France:
Lille, thanks to goals from Ludovic Obraniak (30'), Pierre-Alain Frau (56'), and Moussa Sow (88'), blasted visiting KAA Gent 3-0 to overtake the Belgian club and into a second-place finish in Group C---and a berth in the knockout stage.
At Sofia, Bulgaria:
Daniel Mladenov scored the game's lone goal at 45 minutes as Levski Sofia, already eliminated from the tournament, knocked off Group C winners Sporting 1-0 at home.
FINAL GROUP C STANDINGS:
1. Sporting (GP: 6; GD: +8; PTS: 12)
2. LOSC Lille Metropole (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 8)
3. KAA Gent (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 7)
4. Levski Sofia (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 7)
Group G:
At Brussels, Belgium:
With Tom De Sutter (11') and Matias Suarez (40') getting on the scoreboard, RSC Anderlecht assured themselves of safe passage to the knockout stage with a 2-0 home win over Hajduk Split.
At Athens, Greece:
Alexander Bukharov (44'), Alessandro Rosina (67'), and Igor Denisov (88') each tallied a goal as Zenit Saint Petersburg crushed AEK Athens 3-0 on the road. Combined with RSC Anderlecht's home win over Hajduk Split, the loss eliminated the Greek club from the tournament.
FINAL GROUP G STANDINGS:
1. Zenit Saint Petersburg (GP: 6; GD: +12; PTS: 18)
2. RSC Anderlecht (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 7)
3. AEK Athens (GP: 6; GD: -4; PTS: 7)
4. Hajduk Split (GP: 6; GD: -8; PTS: 3)
Zenit Saint Petersburg and RSC Anderlecht (the latter because of superior head-to-head competition with AEK Athens) advanced to the knockout stage.
Group H:
At Stuttgart, Germany:
The new Bruno Labbadia regime at VfB Stuttgart got off to a flying start on Thursday as the hosts belted visiting Odense BK 5-1. Timo Gebhart (20'), Christian Gentner (65'), Pavel Pogrebniak (71'), and Ciprian Marica (90') each scored once for the hosts.
At Getafe, Spain:
Adrian Corpa scored at 15 minutes as Getafe defeated visiting----and knockout round-bound---BSC Young Boys 1-0.
FINAL GROUP H STANDINGS:
1. VfB Stuttgart (GP: 6; GD: +10; PTS: 15)
2. BSC Young Boys (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 9)
3. Getafe (GP: 6; GD: -4; PTS; 7)
4. Odense BK (GP: 6; GD: -6; PTS: 4)
VfB Stuttgart and BSC Young Boys advanced to the knockout stage.
Group I:
At Budapest, Hungary:
In a battle of eliminated clubs, Debreceni VSC picked up their first win in group stage play with a 2-0 home win over Sampdoria. Peter Kabat provided both goals, at 48 and 86 minutes.
At Eindhoven, Netherlands:
Despite being held to a 0-0 home stalemate with fellow knockout-stage entrants FC Metalist Kharkiv, PSV Eindhoven won Group I.
FINAL GROUP I STAGE:
1. PSV Eindhoven (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 14)
2. FC Metalist Kharkiv (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 11)
3. Sampdoria (GP: 6; GD: -3; PTS: 5)
4. Debreceni VSC (GP: 6; GD: -9; PTS: 3)
PSV Eindhoven and FC Metalist Kharkiv advanced to the knockout stage.
The sixth and final Match Day of Europa League group stage action commenced with twelve games on Wednesday.
Group D:
At Bruges, Belgium:
Giuseppe Rossi scored twice (29', 34') as Villarreal defeated Club Brugge 2-1 on the road to finish atop Group D.
At Zagreb, Croatia:
Dimitrios Salpingidis scored the lone goal of the match at 59 minutes as PAOK Salonika defeated Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 on the road to advance to the Round of 32.
FINAL GROUP D STANDINGS:
1. Villarreal (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 12)
2. PAOK FC (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 11)
3. Dinamo Zagreb (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 7)
4. Club Bruge (GP: 6; GD: -4; PTS: 3)
Villarreal and PAOK FC advanced to the knockout stage.
Group E:
At Alkmaar, Netherlands:
Kolbeinn Sigthorsson doubled (6', 84') as AZ Alkmaar defeated visiting FC BATE Borisov 3-0.
At Kiev, Ukraine:
Despite being held to a 0-0 home stalemate by FC Sheriff, Dynamo Kiev still won Group E.
FINAL GROUP E STANDINGS:
1. Dynamo Kiev (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 11)
2. FC BATE Borisov (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 10)
3. AZ Alkmaar (GP: 6; PTS: -2; PTS: 7)
4. FC Sheriff (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 5)
Dynamo Kiev and FC BATE Borisov advanced to the knockout stage.
Group F:
At Prague, Czech Republic:
In a battle of the group's two knockout-stage-bound teams, Vaclav Kadlec scored at 44 minutes to salvage a 1-1 home draw for Sparta Prague in their match with CSKA Moscow. The Horses, who saw their perfect record in group-stage play go by the wayside, got their goal from Alan Dzagoev at 15 minutes.
At Lausanne, Switzerland:
Ezequiel Munoz delivered the game's lone tally (85') as Palermo defeated FC Lausanne-Sport 1-0 on the road as both teams ended their European campaigns.
FINAL GROUP F STANDINGS:
1. CSKA Moscow (GP: 6; GD: +15; PTS: 16)
2. Sparta Prague (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 9)
3. Palermo (GP: 6; GD: -4; PTS: 7)
4. FC Lausanne-Sport (GP: 6; GD: -11; PTS: 1)
CSKA Moscow and Sparta Prague advanced to the knockout stage.
Group J:
At Lviv, Ukraine:
Artem Fedetskiy's equalizer at 45 minutes secured FC Karpaty Lviv their first---and only---point in this year's group-stage action as the hosts gained a 1-1 home stalemate with Paris Saint-Germain. Peguy Luyindula scored at 39 minutes for PSG, who locked up the top spot in Group J.
At Seville, Spain:
Goals courtesy of Ndri Romaric (31') and Frederic Kanoute (35') secured a 2-2 home draw for Sevilla against Borussia Dortmund, enough for the Spanish club to advance to the knockout stage and end the German club's European campaign.
FINAL GROUP J STANDINGS:
1. Paris Saint-Germain (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 12)
2. Sevilla (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 10)
3. Borussia Dortmund (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 9)
4. FC Karpaty Lviv (GP: 6; GD: -11; PTS: 1)
Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla advanced to the knockout stage.
Group K:
At Naples, Italy:
Edinson Cavani's goal at 90 minutes carried Napoli to a 1-0 home win over Steaua Bucharest, lifting the Italian club past the visiting club from the Romanian capital and into the knockout stage.
At Liverpool, England:
Liverpool, loaded with reserves, were held to a 0-0 deadlock by visiting FC Utrecht.
FINAL GROUP K STANDINGS:
1. Liverpool (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 10)
2. Napoli (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 7)
3. Steaua Bucharest (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 6)
4. FC Utrecht (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 5)
Liverpool and Napoli advanced to the knockout stage.
Group L:
At Istanbul, Turkey:
Besiktas defeated visiting Rapid Vienna 2-0. Ricardo Quaresma (32') and Fabian Ernst (45') provided the goals for the knockout stage-bound hosts.
At Porto, Portugal:
Nicolas Otamendi (22'), Ressureiacao Ruben Micael (55'), and James Rodriguez (90') each scored a goal as FC Porto dominated visitng CSKA Sofia 3-1.
FINAL GROUP L STANDINGS:
1. FC Porto (GP: 6; GD: +10; PTS: 16)
2. Besiktas (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 13)
3. Rapid Vienna (GP: 6; GD: -7; PTS: 3)
4. CSKA Sofia (GP: 6; GD: -6; PTS: 3)
FC Porto and Besiktas advanced to the knockout stage.
Match Day #5 in Europa League group stage play concluded on Thursday with twelve games.
Group D:
At Thessaloniki, Greece:
Stefan Scepovic scored the equalizer at 89 minutes as Club Brugge---already eliminated from the tournament---gained a 1-1 road draw with PAOK Salonika. Adelino Andre Vieira De Freitas Vieirnha scored for the hosts at 25 minutes.
At Villarreal, Spain:
Giuseppe Rossi scored twice (PK-25', 81') as Villarreal locked up a berth in the knockout rounds with a 3-0 home whuppin' of Dinamo Zagreb.
GROUP D STANDINGS:
1. Villarreal* (GP: 5; GD: +2; PTS: 9)
2. PAOK FC (GP: 5; GD: +1; PTS: 8)
3. Dinamo Zagreb (GP: 5; GD: 0; PTS: 7)
4. Club Brugge# (GP: 5; GD: -3; PTS: 3)
*Clinched berth in knockout stage
#Eliminated from European competition
Group E:
At Tiraspol, Moldova:
Florent Rouamba's equalizer at 54 minutes enabled FC Sheriff to salvage a 1-1 home draw with AZ Alkmaar (Brett Holman scoring at 17 minutes), but it was not enough for either club as both were eliminated from the tournament.
At Minsk, Belarus:
Ognjen Vukojevic (16'), Andriy Yarmolenko (43'), Oleg Gusev (PK-50'), and Artem Milevskiy (68') each scored a goal as Dynamo Kiev moved into first place in Group E with a 4-0 road fist beating of FC BATE Borisov. Both teams will play in the knockout stage of the Europa League.
GROUP E STANDINGS:
1. Dynamo Kiev* (GP: 5; GD: +4; PTS: 10)
2. FC BATE Borisov* (GP: 5; GD: +3; PTS: 10)
3. AZ Alkmaar# (GP: 5; GD: -5; PTS: 4)
4. FC Sheriff# (GP: 5; GD: -2; PTS: 4)
*Clinched berth in the knockout stage
#Eliminated from European competition
Group F:
At Khimki, Russia:
Tomas Necid scored twice (19', 83') as CSKA Moscow locked up the top spot in Group F with their 5-1 home horsewhipping of Lausanne-Sport.
At Palermo, Italy:
Jiri Kladrubsky (PK-51') and Juraj Kucka (63') each tallied once in the second half as Sparta Prague came back to gain a 2-2 road draw with Palermo, good enough to lock up a berth in the Round of 32 while eliminating the Sicilian club in the process.
GROUP F STANDINGS:
1. CSKA Moscow** (GP: 5; GD: +15; PTS: 15)
2. Sparta Prague* (GP: 5; GD: 0; PTS: 8)
3. Palermo# (GP: 5; GD: -5; PTS: 4)
4. FC Lausanne-Sport# (GP: 5; GD: -10; PTS: 1)
**Won Group F and clinched a berth in the knockout stage
*Clinched a berth in the knockout stage
#Eliminated from European competition
Group J:
At Dortmund, Germany:
Borussia Dortmund, powered by goals from Shinji Kagawa (5'), Mats Julian Hummels (49'), and Robert Lewandowski (89'), spanked visiting Karpaty Lviv 3-0.
At Paris:
Guillaume Hoarau scored twice (19', 47') as Paris Saint-Germain locked up a berth in the knockout stage with a 4-2 doubling of visiting Sevilla.
GROUP J STANDINGS:
1. Paris Saint-Germain* (GP: 5; GD: +5; PTS: 11)
2. Sevilla (GP: 5; GD: +3; PTS: 9)
3. Borussia Dortmund (GP: 5; GD: +3; PTS: 8)
4. FC Karpaty Lviv# (GP: 5; GD: -11; PTS: 0)
*Clinched berth in the knockout stage
#Eliminated from European competition
Group K:
At Utrecht, Netherlands:
Edinson Cavani's hat trick (5', 42', PK-70') carried Napoli to a 3-3 road draw with FC Utrecht. The Dutch club, now eliminated from the tournament, got their goals from Ricky Wolfswinkel (6', PK-28') and Frank Demouge (35').
At Bucharest, Romania:
Milan Jovanovic's goal at 19 minutes turned out to be enough for Liverpool as the Reds locked up Group K with a 1-1 road draw with Steaua Bucharest. The Romanian club maintained a two-point advantage over Napoli for second place thanks to Eder Bonfirm's equalizer at 61 minutes.
GROUP K STANDINGS:
1. Liverpool* (GP: 5; GD: +5; PTS: 9)
2. Steaua Bucharest (GP: 5; GD: -1; PTS: 6)
3. Napoli (GP: 5; GD: -2; PTS: 4)
4. FC Utrecht# (GP: 5; GD: -2; PTS: 4)
*Won Group K and clinched a berth in the knockout stage
#Eliminated from European competition
Group L:
At Sofia, Bulgaria:
Besiktas, with Tomas Zapotocny (59') and Filip Holosko (64') providing the second-half goal power, locked up a berth in the knockout stage with a 2-1 road win over CSKA Sofia.
At Vienna, Austria:
Falcao's hat trick (42', 86', 88') carried FC Porto to a 3-1 road win over Rapid Vienna, eliminating the club from Austria's capital city from the tournament.
GROUP H STANDINGS:
1. FC Porto** (GP: 5; GD: +8; PTS: 13)
2. Besiktas* (GP: 5; GD: +1; PTS: 10)
3. Rapid Vienna# (GP: 5; GD: -5; PTS: 3)
4. CSKA Sofia# (GP: 5; GD: -4; PTS: 3)
**Won Group H and clinched a berth in the knockout stage
*Clinched a berth in the knockout stage
#Eliminated from European competition
