The semifinal round of the Europa League concluded on Thursday with the second game of each of the two two-match series.
At Bilbao, Spain:
Markel Susaeta (16'), Ibai Gomez (45'+1), and Fernando Llorente (87', that's him here celebrating) each scored a goal as Athletic Bilbao overturned their 2-1 defeat on the road from last week with a 3-1 home win over Sporting CP in game two and won their two-match series 4-3 on aggregate.
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At Valencia, Spain:
Adrian's goal in the 59th minute (that's him celebrating afterward) was more than enough as Atletico Madrid won game two with Valencia 1-0 on the road and won their two-game series 5-2 on aggregate.
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Athletic Bilbao will take on Atletico Madrid in the May 9 Europa League final, scheduled to be played at National Stadium in Bucharest, Romania.
The semifinal round of the Europa League got under way on Thursday with two games.
At Madrid:
Ramadel Falcao scored twice (18', 78', that's him celebrating his second tally) as Atletico Madrid took the opening game of their two-match series with Valencia at home 4-2.
At Lisbon, Portugal:
Emiliano Insua (74') and Diego Capel (79', that's him here celebrating) each scored a goal five minutes apart as Sporting CP came from behind to upend Athletic Bilbao 2-1 in their series opener. The visitors still have a chance, thanks to Jon Aurtenetxe's road goal in the 53rd minute.
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The draw for the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the Europa League took place on Friday.
The opening contests of the quarterfinal round will take place on March 29 with the return matches taking place on April 5.
Here are the matchups with the game-one hosts listed first:
AZ Alkmaar vs. Valencia
FC Schalke 04 vs. Athletic Bilbao
Sporting CP vs. FC Metalist Kharkiv
Atletico Madrid vs. Hannover 96
The semifinal round will take place with the opening matches to be played on April 19 and the return contests on April 26.
Again the game-one hosts are listed first:
Atletico Madrid-Hannover 96 winner vs. AZ Alkmaar-Valencia winner
Sporting CP-FC Metalist Kharkiv winner vs. Schalke 04-Athletic Bilbao winner
The Europa League final will take place at Bucharest, Romania on May 9.
The Europa League's Round of 16 concluded with eight games played on Thursday.
At Hanover, Germany:
Two own goals from Antonio Kanu (21', 73') enabled Hannover 96 to smother visiting Standard Liege 4-0 in game two of their two-match series and finish off the Belgian club 6-2 on aggregate. The visiting and victorious German club's Didier Ya Konan is shown here celebrating.
At Eindhoven, Netherlands:
Adil Rami (that's him here celebrating with teammates) scored in the 47th minute as Valencia gained a 1-1 game-two road draw with PSV Eindhoven, good enough for a two-game series win, 5-3 on aggregate.
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At Udine, Italy:
Despite dropping a 2-1 road decision in game two, AZ Alkmaar still won their two-game series with Udinese 3-2 on aggregate. Erik Falkenburg (seen here) scored for the visiting Dutch club in the 30th minute.
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At Bilbao, Spain:
Fernando Llorente (23') and Oscar de Marcos (66', that's him celebrating here) each scored once as Athletic Bilbao defeated visiting Manchester United 2-1 in game two and won their two-game series 5-3 on aggregate.
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At Piraeus, Greece:
With goals courtesy of Cristian Villagra (81') and Marko Devic (87'), FC Metalist Kharkiv defeated Olympiacos 2-1 on the road in game two, and with the score at 2-2 on aggregate, advanced on away goals. Happy Metalist players celebrate their victory and passage to the quarterfinal round.
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At Manchester, England:
Despite dropping a 3-2 road decision in game two, with the score at 3-3 on aggregate, Sporting CP still advanced at Manchester City's expense due to the away goals rule. Matias Fernandez (33') and Ricky van Wolfswinkel (39') still scored the critical goals for the Lions. Despondent Citizens Micah Richards and Kolo Toure react at the final whistle as shown here.
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At Gelsenkirchen, Germany:
With Klaas Jan-Huntelaar's hat trick (29' shown here, PK-57', 80'), FC Schalke 04 dominated visiting FC Twente 4-1 in game two and won their two-game series 4-2 on aggregate.
At Istanbul, Turkey:
Adrian (26', seen here celebrating with teammates), Falcao (83'), and Eduardo Salvio (90'+4) each scored a goal as Atletico Madrid dominated Besiktas 3-0 on the road in game two and took out the Black Eagles 6-1 on aggregate.
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The Round of 16 in the Europa League opened on Thursday with the opening contest of each of the eight two-game series..
At Kharkiv, Ukraine:
David Fuster scored the only goal of the match in the 50th minute as Olympiacos took the opening match of their two-game series with FC Metalist Kharkiv 1-0 on the road.
At Lisbon, Portugal:
Xandao provided the lone goal of the contest in the 51st minute as Sporting CP took the opening contest of their series with Manchester City 1-0 at home. Here we see some Citizens trudging back to the midfield circle following the Lions' goal.
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At Enschede, Netherlands:
Luuk de Jong's successful penalty kick in the 61st minute provided all the scoring as FC Twente defeated visiting FC Schalke 04 1-0 in the opening contest of their two-game series.
At Madrid:
Eduardo Salvio scored twice (24', 27') as Atletico Madrid used a three-goal first half to top visiting Besiktas 3-1 in their series opener.
At Liege, Belgium:
Lars Stindl (PK-22', that's him celebrating here) and Mame Biram Diouf (55') each contributed a goal as Hannover 96 gained a game-one 2-2 draw on the road against Standard Liege. Yoni Buyens (26') and Mohamed Tchite (29') each delivered a goal for the hosts.
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At Valencia, Spain:
Roberto Soldado (shown here mobbed by teammates) scored twice (13', PK-43') as Valencia took measure of visiting PSV Eindhoven 4-2 in the clubs' series opener. Two late goals----from Ola Toivonen (PK-82') and Georgino Wijnaldum (89')-----helped put life back in the Dutch club's hope of taking the series.
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At Alkmaar, Netherlands:
Goals from Maarten Martens (62', that's him celebrating) and Erik Falkenburg (84') carried AZ Alkmaar to a 2-0 game-one home win over Udinese.
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At Manchester, England:
Fernando Llorente (43'), Oscar de Marcos (72'), and Iker Muniain (90') each delivered a goal as Athletic Bilbao took game one of their two-match series from Manchester United 3-2 on the road. Wayne Rooney provided both of the Red Devils' goals (21', PK-90'+2). Shown here are teammates from the Spanish Basque Country club celebrating after Fernando Llorante scored their first goal in the 44th minute.
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15 games were played on Thursday as the Europa League's Round of 32 came to a close.
At Bilbao, Spain:
Muniain scored the only goal of the match in the 61st minute as Athletic Bilbao, despite playing the final half-hour of the contest with only ten men, won game two of their two-game series 1-0 at home against Lokomotiv Moscow and, with the series at 2-2 on aggregate, advanced on the away goals rule. Here we see that happy red-and-white vertically-striped jerseyed players from the Spanish club celebrating their series victory.
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At Valencia, Spain:
Jonas scored the only goal of the match in the 24th minute as Valencia handed Stoke City a second 1-0 setback in game two at home and won their series 2-0 on aggregate.
At Enschede, Netherlands:
Nacer Chadli (that's him celebrating)scored the only goal of the match as FC Twente defeated Steaua Bucharest 1-0 in game two and won the series 2-0 on aggregate.
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At Liege, Belgium:
A 0-0 home draw with ten-man Wisla Krakow proved to be good enough for Standard Liege as the Belgian club, with the aggregate score at 1-1, advanced on the away goals rule. The Polish club were reduced to ten men after Gervasio Nunez was ejected via the red card in the 63rd minute, as shown here.
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At Thessaloniki, Greece:
Following last week's scoreless encounter in Italy, Danilo (6'), Antonio Floro Flores (13'), and Maurizio Domizzi (PK-51') provided the series as Udinese won both game two on the road and their series with PAOK FC, 3-0 on both cases.
At Eindhoven, Netherlands:
Tim Matavz scored twice (30', 53') as PSV Eindhoven spanked visiting Trabzonspor 4-1 in game two and took out the Turkish club 6-2 on aggregate. Here's a shot of PSV's Kevin Strootman scoring in the 38th minute.
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At Bruges, Belgium:
Mame Biram Diouf (that's him here) scored the lone goal of the match in the 21st minute as Hannover 96 won game two of their two-match series 1-0 on the road and defeated Club Brugge 3-1 on aggregate.
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At Manchester, England:
Javier Hernandez scored in the 6th minute as Manchester United, despite dropping a 2-1 game-two home decision to Ajax Amsterdam, won their two-game series 3-2 on aggregate.
At Kharkiv, Ukraine:
Goals from Jonathan Cristaldo (62'), Sebastian Blanco (63'), and Bonfim Marlos (86') provided the second-half scoring as FC Metalist Kharkiv (whose players are shown here celebrating) dominated visiting FC Red Bull Salzburg 4-1 in game two and finished their two-match annihilation of the Austrian club 8-1 on aggregation.
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At Piraeus, Greece:
Rafik Djebbour scored the only goal of the match in the 14th minute as Olymiacos racked up a second straight 1-0 over FK Rubin Kazan, this time at home, and took out the Russian club 2-0 on aggregate. Here, we see the Legend's Giannis Maniatis battling Rubin Kazan's Obafemi Martins for the ball.
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At Brussels, Belgium:
Maarten Martens provided the game's lone tally in the 54th minute as AZ Alkmaar took out RSC Anderlecht 2-0 on the road after their second successive 1-0 win over the Belgian club, this time on the road.
At Madrid:
Diego Godin (that's him celebrating) scored the only goal of the match in the 48th minute as Atletico Madrid defeated Lazio 1-0 at home in game two of their two-match series, which they won 4-1 on aggregate.
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At Gelsenkirchen, Germany:
Klass-Jan Huntelaar delivered three goals, one in regulation time (7', that's him celebrating with teammates) as Schalke 04 gained a 1-1 home draw in game two with FC Viktoria Plzen, then scored twice more in overtime (106', 120') as the German club won their two-match series 4-2 on aggregate.
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At Istanbul, Turkey:
Despite dropping a 1-0 home decision to Sporting Braga in game two (the Portuguese club's Rodrigo Lima celebrating after scoring in the 25th minute as shown here) , Besiktas still won their two-game series 2-1 on aggregate.
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At Lisbon, Portugal:
Matias Fernandez scored the only goal of the match in the 84th minute as Sporting CP shut out visiting Legia Warsaw 1-0 in game two and won their series 3-2 on aggregate. Here, we see Legia's Jakub Rzezniczak battling with the Lions' Emiliano Insua for the ball.
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Here are the match-ups for the Round of 16 with the opening games to take place on March 8 and the return matches on March 15. The clubs hosting the respective series openers are listed first.
FC Metalist Kharkiv vs. Olypiacos
Sporting CP vs Manchester City
FC Twente vs. FC Schalke 04
Standard Liege vs. Hannover 96
Valencia vs. PSV Eindhoven
AZ Alkmaar vs. Udinese
Atletico Madrid vs. Besiktas
Manchester United vs. Athletic Bilbao
At Manchester, England:
Sergio Aguero (1'), Edin Dzeko (76'), David Silva (84'), David Pizarro (86') each scored once on Wednesday as Manchester City buried visiting FC Porto 4-0 in game two of the Europa League Round of 32 series and took out the defending champions 6-1 on aggregate.
The opening contests of the remaining fourteen two-game series in the Europa League's Round of 32 were played on Thursday.
At Moscow:
Dennis Glushakov (PK-61') and Felipe Caicedo (71') provided the scoring the enabled Lokomotiv Moscow (a couple of whose players are seen here celebrating) to come from behind to take game one 2-1 at home over Athletic Bilbao. Iker Munain's goal in the 35th minute kept the visiting Spanish club in the two-game series.
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At Wals-Siezenheim, Austria:
Jonathan Cristaldo scored twice in the first half (38', 41', that's him celebrating after his first goal) as FC Metalist Kharkiv took advantage of a three-goal first half and demolished FC Red Bull Salzburg 4-0 on the road in their series opener, putting the Ukrainian club in clear command of their two-match series.
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At Amsterdam, Netherlands:
Ashley Young (59', shown here) and Javier Hernandez (85') provided the scoring as Manchester United blanked home-standing Ajax Amsterdam 2-0 in the opening match of their two-game series.
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At Plzen, Czech Republic:
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's 75th-minute equalizer gained a game-one 1-1 road draw for Schalke in their series with FC Viktoria Plzen, whose lone tally came in the 22nd minute from Vladimar Darida (who celebrates here).
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At Alkmaar, Netherlands:
Adam Maher (that's him celebrating) scored the only goal of the match in the 35th minute as AZ Alkmaar took game one from RSC Anderlecht 1-0 at home.
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At Rome:
Radamel Falcao scored twice (37', 63') as Atletico Madrid came from behind and overtook Lazio 3-1 on the road in game one of their two-game series.
At Warsaw, Poland:
Daniel Carrico (60') and Filipe Andre Santos (88') provided the scoring for Sporting CP as the Lions gained a 2-2 game-one road draw with Legia Warsaw. Jakub Wawrzyniak (37', that's him mobbed by teammates) and Jenusz Gol (79') each tallied once for the hosts.
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At Bucharest, Romania:
Ola John scored the lone goal of the match in the 52nd minute as FC Twente took game one of their series with Steaua Bucharest 1-0 on the road.
At Krakow, Poland:
Tsvetan Genkov's 87th-minute equalizer enabled Wisla Krakow, finishing the game with ten men, salvage a series-opening 1-1 home draw with Standard Liege. Gohi Bi Zorro Cyriac's penalty kick in the 26th minute provided the scoring for the visitnig club from Belgium.
At Udine, Italy:
The opening match of the series between Udinese and PAOK FC from Greece ended in a 0-0 stalemate.
Helping to preserve that scoreless draw is visiting Doublehead Eagle of the North goalkeeper Dario Kresic getting his hands on the ball, as shown here.
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At Trabzon, Turkey:
Tim Matavz (5', that's him, left, celebrating with teammates) and Ola Toivonen (12') provided the early scoring that held up as PSV Eindhoven grabbed the opening game of their two-match series with Trabzonspor 2-1 on the road.
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At Hanover, Germany:
Artur Sobiech (72', that's him celebrating) and Jan Schlaudraff (PK-81') provided the scoring punch as Hannover 96 came back from behind to top visiting Club Brugge 2-1 in the series opener for both clubs. Maxime Lestienne scored in the 50th minute for the Belgian club, still alive in the series.
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At Porto, Portugal:
Sergio Aguero scored the winning goal in the 83rd minute as Manchester City came from behind to overtake home-standing FC Porto 2-1 in the opening contest of their two-game series. The Citizens got a big boost in the 55th minute as the Dragons' Alvaro Pereira (shown here) puts the ball into his own net.
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At Stoke-on-Trent, England:
Mehmet Topal scored the lone goal of the match in the 35th minute as Valencia took game one of their two-game series with Stoke City 1-0 on the road.
The knockout stage of the Europa League commenced with the opening contests of two two-game series in the Round of 32.
At Moscow:
David Fuster scored the only goal of the match in the 72nd minute as Olympiacos defeated Rubin Kazan 1-0 on the road in game one of their two-match series.
At Braga, Portugal:
Tomas Sivok (37', shown here) and Simao Sabrosa (58') each scored once as Besiktas blanked defending champions FC Porto 2-0 on the road in their series opener.
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At Nyon, Switzerland:
The draw for the first two knockout rounds of this season's Europa League took place on Friday.
Here are the match-ups for the Round of 32 with the opening games to take place on February 16 and the return contests on February 23.
The home clubs for the respective opening matches are listed first.
FC Porto vs. Manchester City
Ajax Amsterdam vs. Manchester United
Lokomotiv Moscow vs. Athletic Bilbao
FC Red Bull Salzburg vs. FC Metalist Kharkiv
Stoke City vs. Valencia
FC Rubin Kazan vs. Olympiacos
AZ Alkmaar vs. RSC Anderlecht
Lazio vs. Atletico Madrid
Steaua Bucharest vs. FC Twente
FC Viktoria Plzen vs. FC Schalke 04
Wisla Krakow vs. Standard Liege
Sporting Braga vs. Besiktas
Udinese vs. PAOK FC
Trabzonspor vs. PSV Eindhoven
Hannover 96 vs. Club Brugge
Legia Warsaw vs. Sporting CP
For the Round of 16, the opening games in the respective two-match series will take place on March 8 with the return contests to take place on March 15.
The opening-match hosts are listed first:
Red Bull Salzburg-Metalist Kharkiv winner vs. Rubin Kazan-Olympiacos winner
Legia Warsaw-Sporting CP winner vs. Porto-Manchester City winner
Steaua Bucharest-FC Twente winner vs. Viktoria Plzen-Schalke winner
Stoke City-Valencia winner vs. Tabzonspor-PSV winner
AZ-Anderlecht winner vs. Udinese-PAOK winner
Lazio-Atletico Madrid winner vs. Braga-Besiktas
Ajax-Mancester United winner vs. Lokomotiv Moscow-Athletic Bilbao
Group-stage play in the Europa League concluded on Thursday with twelve games.
Group A:
At Thessaloniki, Greece:
PAOK and visiting Rubin Kazan battled to a 1-1 draw that saw both clubs advance to the knockout stage. Vieirinha's penalty kick in the 16th minute put the Greek club ahead, but Nelson Valdez delivered the equalizer for the visiting Russian club at 48 minutes.
At Dublin, Ireland:
Steven Pienaar (29'), Andros Townsend (38'), Jermain Defoe (45') all scored in the first half as Tottenham Hotspur demolished pointless Shamrock Rovers 4-0 on the road. The visiting English club, nevertheless, still found themselves eliminated from the tournament.
FINAL GROUP A STANDINGS:
1. PAOK FC (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 12)
2. FC Rubin Kazan (GP: 6; GD: +6; PTS: 11)
3. Tottenham Hotspur (GP: 6; GD: +5; PTS: 10)
4. Shamrock Rovers (GP: 6; GD: -15; PTS: 0)
PAOK FC and Rubin Kazan advanced to the knockout stage.
Group B:
At Hanover, Germany:
Konstantin Rausch (25'), Didier Konan Ya (33'), and Artur Sobiech (78') each tallied once as Hannover 96 downed visiting FC Vorskla Poltava 3-1.
At Copenhagen, Denmark:
Michy Batshuayi scored the only goal of the match in the 31st minute as Standard Liege blanked FC Copenhagen 1-0 on the road.
FINAL GROUP B STANDINGS:
1. Standard Liege (GP: 6; GD: +8; PTS: 14)
2. Hannover 96 (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 11)
3. FC Copenhagen (GP: 6; GD: -4; PTS: 5)
4. FC Vorskla Poltava (GP: 6; GD: -6; PTS: 2)
Standard Liege and Hannover 96 advanced to the knockout stage.
Group C:
At Tel Aviv, Israel:
Salim Tuama (33') and Avihai Yadin (76') each scored once as Hapoel Tel Aviv knocked off visiting knockout-stage-bound Legia Warsaw 2-0.
At Eindhoven, Netherlands:
Stanislav Manolev (75') and Tim Matavz (79') each tallied once as PSV Eindhoven held off visiting Rapid Bucharest 2-1.
FINAL GROUP C STANDINGS:
1. PSV Eindhoven (GP: 6; GD: +8; PTS: 16)
2. Legia Warsaw (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 9)
3. Hapoel Tel Aviv (GP: 6; GD: +1; PTS: 7)
4. Rapid Bucharest (GP: 6; GD: -7; PTS: 3)
PSV Eindhoven and Legia Warsaw advanced to the knockout stage.
Group G:
At Alkmaar, Netherlands:
AZ Alkmaar, with their 1-1 home draw with group-winning FC Metalist Kharkiv, advanced to the knockout stage. Adam Maher for the hosts and the Ukrainian club's Marko Devic each scored a goal in the 37th minute.
At Vienna, Austria:
Michael Liendl (62') and Nacer Barazite (80') each tallied once as Austria Vienna blanked visiting Malmo FF 2-0. Despite the win, the club from the Austrian capital, due to AZ's home draw, were still eliminated from the tournament.
GROUP G STANDINGS:
1. FC Metalist Kharkiv (GP: 6; GD: +9; PTS: 14)
2. AZ Alkmaar (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 8)
3. Austria Vienna (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 8)
4. Malmo FF (GP: 6; GD: -11; PTS: 1)
FC Metalist Kharkiv and AZ Alkmaar advanced to the knockout stage.
Group H:
At Bruges, Belgium:
Ewerton Jose Almeida Santos delivered the equalizer in the 65th minute as Sporting Braga gained a 1-1 road draw with Club Brugge. Bjorn Vleminckx scored in the 50th minute for the hosts as both clubs advanced to the knockout stage.
At Birmingham, England:
Adam Rooney scored in the 24th minute as Birmingham City shut out visiting NK Maribor 1-0. Still, with the win, the Brumbies were eliminated from European competition.
FINAL GROUP H STANDINGS:
1. Club Brugge (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 11)
2. Sporting Braga (GP: 6; GD: +6; PTS: 11)
3. Birmingham City (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 10)
4. NK Maribor (GP: 6; GD: -9; PTS: 1)
Club Brugge and Sporting Braga advanced to the knockout stage.
Group I:
At Udine, Italy:
Antonio Di Natale's equalizer (45'+1) proved decisive as Udinese gained a 1-1 home draw with Celtic, sending the hosts to the knockout stage and eliminated the Bhoys from the tournament. Gary Hooper scored for the visiting Scottish club in the 29th minute.
At Madrid:
Radamel Falcao Garcia (PK-38'), Alvaro Dominguez (43'), and Arda Turan (79') each delivered a goal as Atletico Madrid, who already clinched a berth in the knockout stage, won the group with a 3-1 home win over Rennes.
FINAL GROUP I STANDINGS:
1. Atletico Madrid (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 13)
2. Udinese (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 9)
3. Celtic (GP: 6; GD: -1; PTS: 6)
4. Stade Rennes (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 3)
Atletico Madrid and Udinese advanced to the knockout stage.
The top two teams in each of the eight groups are joined by the third place club from each of the eight UEFA Champions League groups in the first knockout round.
The final week of group-stage play in the Europa League commenced with twelve games played on Wednesday.
Group D:
At Zurich, Switzerland:
Xavier Margairaz (69') and Oliver Buff (90') each scored once as FC Zurich defeated visiting FC Vaslui 2-0, knocking the Romanian club out of the running for the knockout stage.
At Rome:
Libor Kozak (42') and Giuseppe Sculli (55') each tallied once as Lazio blanked visiting Sporting CP 2-0. Both team will play in the knockout stage.
FINAL GROUP D STANDINGS:
1. Sporting CP (GP: 6; GD: +4; PTS: 12)
2. Lazio (GP: 6; GD: +2; PTS: 9)
3. FC Vaslui (GP: 6; GD: -3; PTS: 6)
4. FC Zurich (GP: 6; GD: -3; PTS: 5)
Sporting CP and Lazio advanced to the knockout stage.
Group E:
At Kiev, Ukraine:
Oleg Husyev's late equalizer at 80 minutes (his second goal to go with his 17th-minute tally) salvaged a 3-3 home draw for Dynamo Kiev in their match with Maccabi Tel Aviv. Omer Vered (49'), Eliran Atar (62'), and Moanes Dabour (75') each scored once for the visiting Israeli club.
At Istanbul, Turkey:
Manuel Fernandes (PK-59'), Mustafa Pektemek (74'), and Edu (82') each tallied once as Besiktas defeated visiting Stoke City 3-1 and win Group E. Both the Black Eagles and Potters will take part in the Round of 32.
FINAL GROUP E STANDINGS:
1. Besiktas (GP: 6; GD: +6; PTS: 12)
2. Stoke City (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 11)
3. Dynamo Kiev (GP: 6; GD: 0; PTS: 7)
4. Maccabi Tel Aviv (GP: 6; GD: -9; PTS: 2)
Besiktas and Stoke City advanced to the knockout stage.
Group F:
At Bratislav, Slovakia:
Marian Had's own goal in the 52nd minute proved decisive, in more than one way, as FC Red Bull Salzburg came back from two goals down to defeat Slovan Bratislava 3-2 on the road. Thanks to the fact that they scored a higher number of goals on the road in their two group-stage meetings with Paris Saint-Germain, the Red Bulls advanced to the knockout stage.
At Paris:
Javier Pastore (21'), Mathieu Bodmer (41'), Inigo Perez (OG-85'), andGuillaume Hoarau (PK-90') each delivered a goal as Paris Saint-Germain doubled-up visiting Athletic Bilbao 4-2, but still, due to scoring fewer road goals in their two meetings with Red Bull Salzburg, were still eliminated from European competition.
FINAL GROUP F STANDINGS:
1. Athletic Bilbao (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 13)
2. FC Red Bull Salzburg (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 10)
3. Paris Saint-Germain (GP: 6; GD: +1; PTS: 10)
4. Slovan Bratislava (GP: 6; GD: -7; PTS: 1)
Athletic Bilbao and FC Red Bull Salzburg (the latter because of a higher number of road goals scored in their two head-to-head meetings with Paris Saint-Germain) advanced to the knockout stage.
Group J:
At Haifa, Israel:
Jurica Buljat (OG-7') got things off on the wrong foot for Maccabi Haifa, while Ciprian Marica (84') and Andreas Wiegel (90'+2) each tallied once for Schalke 04 as the visiting German club eliminated the hosts from the tournament with their 3-0 road domination.
At Bucharest, Romania:
Stefan Nikolic scored twice (70', 85') as Steaua Bucharest locked up a knockout-stage berth with their 3-1 home win over AEK Larnaca.
FINAL GROUP J STANDINGS:
1. FC Schalke 04 (GP: 6; GD: +11; PTS: 14)
2. Steaua Bucharest (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 8)
3. Maccabi Haifa FC (GP: 6; GD: -2; PTS: 6)
4. AEK Larnaca (GP: 6; GD: -7; PTS: 5)
FC Schalke 04 and Steaua Bucharest advanced to the knockout stage.
Group K:
At Krakow, Poland:
Tsvetan Genkov scored the winning goal in the 46th minute as Wisla Krakow secured passage to the knockout stage with their 2-1 home win over FC Twente.
At London:
Hans Henrik Andreasen (64') and Baye Djiby Fall (90'+3) each provided a second-half goal as Odense Bollklub came back from a two-goal deficit and gain a 2-2 road draw with Fulham, ending the Cottagers' European campaign.
FINAL GROUP K STANDINGS:
1. FC Twente (GP: 6; GD: +7; PTS: 13)
2. Wisla Krakow (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 9)
3. Fulham FC (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 8)
4. Odense Bollklub (GP: 6; GD: -5; PTS: 4)
FC Twente and Wisla Krakow advanced to the knockout stage.
Group L:
At Graz, Austria:
Kostas Manolas (10'), Nathan Burns (43'), and Viktor Klonaridis (77') each scored once as AEK Athens defeated SK Sturm Graz 3-1 on the road.
At Brussels, Belgium:
In a battle of knockout-stage bound clubs, Sacha Kljestan (33'), Fernando (39'), Marcin Wasilewski (57'), Matias Suarez (61'), and Guillaume Gillet (78') each tallied once as RSC Anderlecht defeated visiting Lokomotiv Moscow 5-3.
FINAL GROUP L STANDINGS:
1. RSC Anderlecht (GP: 6; GD: +13; PTS: 18)
2. Lokomotiv Moscow (GP: 6; GD: +3; PTS: 12)
3. AEK Athens (GP: 6; PTS: -7; PTS: 3)
4. SK Sturm Graz (GP: 6; GD: -9; PTS: 3)
RSC Anderlecht and Lokomotiv Moscow advanced to the knockout stage.
