Brann, Porto steal late points
18 - Battling back from two goals down, Bologna grabbed a point in their 2-2 draw at home to 10-man Celtic. I Rossoblu played about an hour up a man, but found themselves behind 2-0 at the half. They did not give up though, and have a point taken from the match. That result keeps them unbeaten at home in the UEFA Cup/Europa League, through 18 games (9-9-0).
8 - An incredible contest in Bergen ended all square between Brann and Midtjylland. Joachim Soltvedt's penalty at the death gave the Norwegians a share of the spoils in the 3-3 stalemate. It left Midtjylland, who are highly ambitious about going all the way, unable to lock up a top-eight spot on the night. They do remain undefeated in three matches against sides from Norway after ousting Fredrikstad in qualifying. In those three ties, Hedens Drenge have scored eight times in total.
5 - Jadon Sancho's 25th-minute goal was enough to separate Fenerbahce and Aston Villa, as the Premier League club came away with a 1-0 victory. Unai Emery's men wrapped up a place in the last 16 with the win, becoming one of two sides to manage this with a game to spare. Fener, who are through to the knockout phase, will likely have to go through the playoffs in February. For Villa, it was their fifth victory over Turkish opposition (5-1-1).
11 - Feyenoord kept their hopes of progressing alive following a convincing 3-0 defeat of Sturm Graz. The former UEFA Cup winners scored a few minutes into the match, before adding a second midway through the second half. They completed the perfect evening with a third at the death. Sturm are now out, having lost in their second trip to Rotterdam. The Dutch club have scored 11 times in their six head-to-head meetings with the Austrian team.
15 - Freiburg were made to sweat against a Maccabi Tel Aviv side who know they were on their way out. In the end, Igor Matanovic's goal eight minutes from time helped the Bundesliga club see out a 1-0 success. A top eight berth is almost a certainty for Freiburg, who are third with the joint-fewest goals conceded. Breisgau-Brasilianer kept their 15th clean sheet in continental play with that win.
4 - Malmo's dismal campaign in the UEL saw them hit yet another low. This time, the Swedes were beaten 1-0 by a resurgent Crvena zvezda team. Vasilije Kostov decided the contest 16 minutes in as the Serbs have rattled off four victories on the spin to put them on the cusp of avoiding the knockout playoffs. It will be elimination at this stage one again for Malmo, who have failed to win a home match in the Europa League in a season fro the fourth time.
30 - Perhaps the biggest surprise among the early contests came in Greece, where PAOK Thessaloniki got two second half goals to stun Real Betis 2-0. The hosts went ahead via Andrija Zivkovic, with Georgios Giakoumakis buried a penalty near the end. It gives PAOK a place in the knockout phases with a game to spare. Betis will feel a little hard done, seeing they put in much effort into the match. There were a total of 30 shots, 19-11 in Betis' favour.
84 - It was a dramatic match in Czechia, where the 10 men of Viktoria Plzen nearly won all three points at home to Porto. Instead, Denis Gul tied things up near the end for the leauge leaders in Portgual, cancelling out their opponents' opener. With the score being 1-1 in the end, the hosts remain undefeated in the comepetition this season despite drawing five times. They may have left it late, but Porto will be relieved to have earned something. Excluding injury time, there were 84 minutes that separated the goals.
19 - Lyon did just enough to edge Young Boys 1-0 in the Swiss capital, maintaining top spot in the league phase. They have also qualified directly for the round of 16 with a game to spare. A disallowed goal at the hour mark proved costly for Young Boys, who are aiming to remain in the top 24. This is Lyon's third away clean sheet in Europe this term. They have not gone through such a run on their travels in 19 years.
Roma and Dinamo Zagreb victorious in late games
13 - After a sluggish start to their UEL campaign, AS Roma have earned their fifth win in the competition, beating Stuttgart 2-0 to put them in a commanding position for a top eight finish. Niccolo Pisilli got both goals for the Giallorossi in what was a huge win. Stuttgart will have it more difficult to progress directly to the round of 16. Interestingly, they were shut out for the third time in the Europa League this season. The last time that happened was 13 years ago.
20 - It was a huge victory for Celta Vigo, who got the better of Lille 2-1 at home despite playing more than an hour down a man. Les Dogues failed ot make the most of their situation though, only managing what proved to be a consolation goal near the end. Lille will now need a point next week to be sure of making it past this stage. They will be disappointed that they could not make more of their 20 attempts created in the 90 minutes.
10 - One of the most important matches of the round went Dinamo Zagreb's way. The former scored twice in each half to defeat FCSB 4-1 in the Croatian capital. The hosts had more than double the chances in this one, and have now all but clinched a place in the knockout stage. The number 10 is important here for a couple of reasions. For one, that is the total of points Dinamo have, making it four UEL showings in a row where they reached that tally. They also beat a Romanian side for the 10th time.
9 - In a tight clash betweeen two sides that wear green and white, there was no winner. Ferencvaros and Panathinaikos will have to split the points after a 1-1 stalemate. Dele's penalty for the hosts was cancelled out in the final few minutes by Anass Zaroury. The result did neither team any good in terms of the top eight, though the pair will feature in the knockout rounds. Fradi have now scored in their last nine continental home games.
19 - While they will not feature in Europe beyond this month, OGC Nice can take comfort in finally winning. The Ligue 1 team did enough to beat Go Ahead Eagles 3-1. Tiago Gouveia netted twice for Les Aiglons to take them off the foot of the table. The Dutch side are know in serious danger of suffering an elimination. It is very much welcome relief for Nice, who have won in Europe for the first time in 19 games.
2 - Rangers were also officially eliminated from the UEL on Thursday, but can feel a sense of pride that they were able to get a victory. Mohammed Diomande scored what proved to be the only goal of the contest in the 1-0 success against Ludogoretsz. The Bulgarians could live to regret this defeat, as they now sit a point outside of the playoff places. The Gers scored what was just their second goal at Ibrox during the league phase. That is the second lowest, behind Maccabi Tel Aviv's one.
21 - RB Salzburg have given themselves a shot at making it to the knockout rounds. The Austrian regulars pulled off a 3-1 win over Basel. All three goals came in the opening 35 minutes as the hosts were in an excellent spot at half time. There was not enough from the Swiss champions in the second half, with their ambitions of going through taking a huge hit. Salzburg attempted 21 shots in this contest in comparison to Basel's nine.
3 - Sporting Braga earned a very needed 1-0 result at home to Nottingham Forest. A Ryan Yates own goal, moments after Morgan Gibbs-White failed to convert a penalty, proved to be the difference between the two sides as the Portuguese side moved further into the top eight. Forest will now likely have to feature in the knockout round playoffs. Braga are unbeaten in their last three home games against Premier League opposition in Europe (2-1-0).
23 - The late kickoff that was delayed saw Genk earn a 2-0 victory at the expense of Utrecht. A goal in either half allowed the Belgians to qualify for at least the knockout round playoffs with a round to spare. They could even reach the top eight if they can do enough while other results go their way. Utrecht's European journey will conclude next week, as they have no chance at moving on. The Eredivisie outfit have been shut out in a continental match for the 23rd time in their history.
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