AEK Athens hand Samsunspor first loss while Legia fall again
11 - Matej Rynes' 89th minute winner for Sparta Praha saw them past CS Universitatea Craiova in Romania and, more crucially, ensure that the Czech side would be playing in the Conference League in February and/or March. The 2-1 victory has the visitors enter the top eight with one round left. It was CSU's first-ever home loss in the competition, which came at their 11th such match (6-4-1).
21 - Two goals in the final 15 minutes of the first half helped Shkendija top Slovan Bratislava 2-0. The North Macedonian champions are on the precipice of becoming the first side from their nation into the knockout stages of a UEFA club competition. As for Slovan, their continental foray will end next week, which is quite the surprise. Shkendija kept their 21st clean sheet in Europe, and their fourth this season.
2 - Razvan Marin and Aboubakary Koita's second half markers saw AEK Athens overcome their early deficit to get the better of Samsunspor 2-1. It was the Turkish side's first defeat in the UECL, after going 3-1-0 in their opening four matches. Both teams are through to the knockout stages, and are on track to claim a place in the last 16. AEK Athens have beaten Turkish opposition for the second time with the victory.
5 - For the fourth time this league phase, Legia Warsaw were beaten. The Polish Cup holders fell 2-1 away to Armenia's Noah and, due to other results elsewhere, are eliminated from Europe. The visitors took the lead early on, but failed to hold on, conceding twice in the second half to be knocked out. This is the fifth group stage/league phase in which Legia lost more than half of their games.
13 - Rayo Vallecano make it into the knockout rounds thanks to a 2-1 success at Jagiellonia Bialystok. Pacha was the hero for the Spaniards, as his 81st minute goal proved to be the decisive moment in the match. As was the case with CSU Craiova, Jagiellonia lose a UECL home match for the very first time. As for Rayo, who are participating in Europe for just the second time, this was their 13th win from 19 clashes (13-3-3).
8 - Hacken became the first team to score on AEK Larnaca in the UECL league phase. Unfortunately for the Swedes, their 94th minute equalizer from Johan Hammar was not enough to keep them in contention for the knockout stages. The match ended 1-1, a result that did not help either side in their respective aims. Hacken, who have yet to win a match in a group phase, drew at home for the eighth time in continental football.
4 - Fiorentina are finally back to winning ways after a month and a half. La Viola will be in the knockout round after edging Dynamo Kyiv 2-1 at home. The away side, on the other hand, will not be playing in this season's Conference League in the new year, having lost for the fourth time this autumn. The number four is quite significant here. It is Fiorentina's fourth win over Dynamo, and their fourth victory in a row against Ukrainian teams, having beaten Polissia Zhytomyr in the playoff round.
12 - AZ will also be featuring in the next phase of the tournament after picking up a 3-0 result on the road against Drita. The Dutch side, who reached the semi-finals in 2022/23, dominated proceedings in Pristina, outshooting the hosts 25-6. It is a first defeat in the league phase for Drita, who are still in a good position to qualify. As for the Alkmaar-based AZ, they ended a 12-game winless run in UEFA club competition away games, qualifiers excluded.
7 - Having made the knockout round playoffs last February, Shamrock Rovers will not be matching that feat. They could not hold onto to their advantage at Breidablik, ultimately slumping to a 3-1 reverse. Breidablik, prevailed in the UECL proper for the first time at the 11th time of asking. The Irish side, who won their league again this calendar year, failed to impress this fall, picking up just one point. They had seven attempts in this match, but it proved not to be enough.
Red Imps pull off another scalp, Rapid disappoint
15 - Rapid Wien are the only team not to have picked up a point in this term's UECL, having lost 1-0 to Omonia Nicosia. Angelos Neofytou's lone goal 19 minutes in helped the Cypriot club advance at the expense of their more established Austrian opponents, who are out. After making last season's quarter-finals, Rapid are now in serious danger of finishing bottom of the 36-team league phase. It is the first time in 15 years that they have lost all of their home matches in a group stage or league phase.
3 - From the side without points to the one without a goal scored, as Shelbourne still cannot find the back of the net. The League of Ireland outfit were shut out by Crystal Palace at home, as the Eagles came away with a 3-0 result. All of the damage was done in the first half, as Palace were able to rotate in the second half to earn their third win of the league phase. Shelbourne are out, while Oliver Glasner's men kept a third clean sheet in their maiden European journey.
0 - Rijeka impressed in their final home game of the group phase, defeating 10-man Celje 3-0 to all but secure their place in the top 24. The Croatian champions scored all three of their goals in the second half, with Artemijus Tutyskinas' red card 14 minutes from time doing the Slovenians even more harm. After winning their opening three matches, Celje have now been beaten in their last two. Meanwhile, Rijeka is the only one of the 18 teams who have played all of their home ties in the league phase to concede no goals.
6 - A penalty in the fifth minute of first half stoppage time was enough for Rakow Czestochowa to defeat Zrinjski 1-0 and book their place in the knockout stage. It will be the first time the Polish side will be playing European football into the new year, a feat the Bosnians are hoping to follow suit with. Zrinjski will need to fix their goalscoring problem, especially on the road. It was the sixth time this season, fifth on the road, in which the club from Mostar failed to score in the UECL, qualifiers included.
18 - For the second time this fall, Lincoln Red Imps do the unthinkable and pull off an impressive victory. This time, the side from Gibraltar came from a goal down to beat Sigma Olomouc 2-1 at home. Nicholas Pozo's 73rd minute goal puts his side on the cusp of sneaking into the knockout round in what would be one of the stories of the season. Sigma, who had a chance to advance on the night, mustered 18 attempts in the 90 minutes, an average of a shot every five minutes.
23 - Lech Poznan and Mainz played to a 1-1 draw in Poland. While both teams may have seen it as an opportunity missed, the Germans will be the happier ones, having played a significant time down a man. Still, Lech will be content with their ability to bounce back after conceding the opener. However, they are the ones with more work to do next Thursday as they still need at least a point to advance. The hosts played up a man for 23 minutes, not including stoppage time, but could not find a winner.
16 - Neither KuPS Kuopio nor Lausanne-Sport were able to find the back of the net in Tampere in a goalless contest. Both teams really could have used three points, as a place in the knockout stage is not yet certain for either. In the end, none of the 35 shots (21-14 in Lausanne-Sport's favour) managed to go in. If there is one thing the Swiss side can be happy about, they kept their 16th clean sheet in continental play.
36 - Shakhtar Donetsk ensured their place in the top 24 after beating Hamrun Spartans 2-0 away. The Pitmen broke down their Maltese counterparts twice in the space of three minutes just after the hour mark to pick up a fourth win of the league phase. They are a point away from qualifying for the round of 16. As for Hamrun, their group phase debut will come to an end next week. As they did in their other two games against Maltese clubs, Shakhtar got the job done. They have beaten teams from 36 different UEFA nations overall.
28 - Strasbourg made it four wins in five, both in the UECL league phase, and against Scottish teams with their 1-0 defeat of Aberdeen. Martial Godo made the difference in the 35th minute to keep the Ligue 1 club at the top of the league phase standings. They are the only club to have officially secured a round of 16 spot with a game to spare. Aberdeen are out, having failed to win a match this fall. For Le Racing, their last win over a Scottish team came 28 years ago in the UEFA Cup against Rangers.
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