IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Liverpool eased into the Europa League round of 16 with a 4-0 home win over Austria’s LASK in Group E and Olympique de Marseille secured a top-two finish in Group B after a thrilling 4-3 win over Ajax Amsterdam on Thursday.
Premier League Liverpool moved on to 12 points and will top the standings after second-placed Toulouse were held to a goalless draw at home by Union Saint Gilloise.
Luis Diaz put Liverpool ahead after 12 minutes with a header from Joe Gomez’s cross and Cody Gapko’s tap-in doubled the lead three minutes later.
Mohamed Salah’s penalty made it 3-0 early in the second half and Gapko added his second in stoppage time to complete the rout.
Marseille advanced from the group stage with victory over 10-man Ajax thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s hat-trick completed late in stoppage time.
Ajax had levelled three times, Brian Brobbey scoring twice, but they had Steven Berghuis sent off in the second half following a challenge on Joaquin Correa.
Villarreal also progressed to the knockout stages with a 3-2 win Panathinaikos in Group F after the Greek side fought back from 3-0 down.
Rangers drew 1-1 with Aris Limassol and the Scottish team remained in contention for a top-two spot in Group C with seven points, one ahead of Sparta Prague who beat leaders Real Betis 1-0.
Bayern Leverkusen confirmed their place in the round of 16 as Group H winners with a 2-0 win over BK Hacken. Qarabag and Molde are still looking to secure a playoff place as runners-up after their 2-2 draw.
Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku scored for AS Roma but they failed to secure victory over Servette as Chris Bedia equalised for the Swiss side in a 1-1 draw in Group G.
Slavia Prague made notable progress towards claiming top spot in the group with a 3-2 win over Sheriff thanks to Muhamed Tijani’s stoppage-time penalty.
Roma and Slavia Prague will finish in the top two places in the group but Slavia have a two-point advantage heading into the final group games.
West Ham advance with late win, Brighton seal top-two place
Tomas Soucek scored a late goal to earn West Ham United a 1-0 win over Backa Topola in Serbia on Thursday and secure a top-two finish in Europa League Group A.
Soucek struck one minute from time, evading his marker and volleying home a cross with his outstretched right leg.
Defences dominated a dull game and the hosts had the better opportunities to break the deadlock until the closing stages.
West Ham lead the standings with 12 points, level with German side Freiburg who the English team host in the final round of matches on Dec. 14.
Michael Gregoritsch’s hat-trick earned Freiburg a top-two spot as they thrashed visiting Olympiakos 5-0.
Joao Pedro’s second-half penalty gave Brighton & Hove Albion a 1-0 win over 10-man AEK Athens to secure a top-two place in Group B and avenge their defeat by the Greeks in their opening match.
Brighton host Marseille in the final group game.
Sparta Prague edged Real Betis 1-0 with a second-half goal from Lukas Haraslin as they await the result of the Rangers v Aris Limassol match to decide the top two places of Group C.
Atalanta qualified for the round of 16 by securing top spot in Group D with 11 points after a 1-1 draw against Sporting Lisbon who remained second with eight points.
Stade Rennais moved top of Group F with a 2-0 win over Maccabi Haifa. Second-placed Villarreal will confirm their place in the last 16 if they beat Panathinaikos.
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