<
>

Everton and Tottenham reach Europa League knockout stages

Everton are through to the Europa League knockout rounds as Group H winners after pulling off a fine 2-0 away victory over Wolfsburg.

After Ivan Perisic saw a goal controversially ruled out for offside, Romelu Lukaku put the visitors ahead with a goal on the break before the interval, with fellow Belgian Kevin Mirallas wrapping up the win.

Sylvain Distin also hit the crossbar and Aiden McGeady missed a sitter, but Wolfsburg applied considerable pressure, with Nicklas Bendtner also seeing a goal ruled out for offside.

Everton had qualified even before the victory as Krasnodar drew 1-1 with visiting Lille in the group's earlier game.

Brazilian striker Ari put the Russian side ahead in the first half of a match they needed to win to stand any chance of progressing and the lead survived until the 79th minute.

That is when Nolan Roux's header made it 1-1 and ensured the hosts would go into their game at Everton with nothing but pride to play for.

Tottenham Hotspur beat Partizan Belgrade in Group C to secure their place in the next round, but the match was overshadowed by a series of pitch invasions.

Tottenham face UEFA sanctions after the match was halted 41 minutes in after individuals encroached onto the pitch on three separate occasions in what appeared to be an orchestrated PR stunt.

The incident led to a temporary suspension of play at White Hart Lane, where Mauricio Pochettino's men would eventually triumph 1-0 thanks to Benjamin Stambouli's first goal for the club.

Besiktas booked their place in the knockout stages after holding on to claim a 2-2 draw with Asteras Tripoli after being reduced to 10 men.

Former Chelsea striker Demba Ba opened the scoring for Besiktas in the 15th minute before another former Blue, Gokhan Tore, added the second just after the hour mark from the penalty spot.

Substitute Jeronimo Barrales then headed Asteras back into contention in the 72nd minute, with things going from bad to worse for the Turkish visitors when Atiba Hutchinson was sent off a minute later for his second bookable offence.

Besiktas looked like they might hold on for the victory that would seal their progress in style, but Facundo Parra levelled the scores in the 83rd minute. It meant a nervy finish for Besiktas, but they held on to claim a point which was enough to put them through behind group leaders Tottenham.

Feyenoord secured their passage to the Europa League round of 32 on Thursday with a 2-0 win over holders Sevilla in Group G.

On a riotous night in Rotterdam, the home side cashed in with goals from Jens Toornstra and Karim El Ahmadi putting them through.

Rijeka knocked 10-man Standard Liege out with a 2-0 win at Stadion Kantrida.

With Feyenoord beating Sevilla, defeat for either side would have spelled elimination in Group G and it was the Belgian side who blinked under pressure.

Brazilian striker Moises had already put the Croatians ahead when Dino Arslanagic was sent off while conceding a penalty that Andrej Kramaric finished off.

Inter Milan progressed to the last 32 thanks to a nervy 2-1 win over Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in Group F.

Slovenian goalkeeper Samir Handanovic saved his sixth straight penalty in all competitions with Inter to stop Dnipro, who opened the scoring through Ruslan Rotan, from taking a 2-0 lead.

Zdravko Kuzmanovic and Dani Osvaldo scored either side of the break but the Serie A side might have conceded several goals in the second half if not for Handanovic's resilience, as he helped his side cover for the 46th-minute dismissal of Andrea Ranocchia.

St Etienne and Karabakh battled out a 1-1 draw in that kept both sides in contention for the knockout phase.

Vuqar Nadirov put the Azerbaijani visitors ahead with a brilliant lob in the 15th minute, but the lead was short-lived as Ricky van Wolfswinkel stabbed home an equaliser six minutes later.

The result ensured both sides will enter the final round of matches next month -- St Etienne visit Dnipro and Karabakh host Inter Milan -- with a chance of finishing second behind Inter in the pool.

Sparta Prague and Napoli remained in the top two spots in Group I after a goalless draw at Stadion Letna.

Sparta were twice denied by the crossbar, on each occasion missing a clear chance from the rebound, while Napoli improved in the second half and went very close through Marek Hamsik's header.

A point apiece was enough to keep the two teams ahead of Young Boys, who won 3-1 away to Slovan Bratislava, going into the final round of fixtures.

Ten-man Fiorentina survived a second-half onslaught to beat Guingamp 2-1 at Stade du Roudourou, thus securing top spot in in Group K.

The Serie A club quickly established a two-goal lead through Marko Marin and Khouma Babacar but Claudio Beauvue's penalty rocked the visitors just before half-time.

Jose Maria Basanta was dismissed for his part in the incident leading to the spot-kick, and La Viola sorely felt his absence in the second half as Guingamp went on to dominate, but they held on for the win.

Two late goals from Stefanos Athanasiadis kept alive PAOK Salonika's bid to reach the last 32 as they won 2-0 away to Dinamo Minsk.

Athanasiadis scored twice in the last 10 minutes after PAOK, sluggish for 70 minutes, came to life late in the game to claim three points which move them level with Guingamp.

Granit Xhaka's thunderous free kick capped an entertaining 2-2 draw between Villarreal and Borussia Monchengladbach in Group A.

The two teams remain on course to take the top two spots and progress ahead of FC Zurich, though victory for either would have guaranteed their passage with a game to spare.

The La Liga side twice took the lead, through Luciano Vietto and Denis Cheryshev, only for Raffael and Xhaka to level for the Germans in style.

Yassine Chikhaoui scored twice from the penalty spot to down keep FC Zurich's hopes alive with a 3-1 win over Apollon Limassol.

The Swiss side finish their Group A campaign with a shootout against Borussia Monchengladbach, and go into that match having swept aside their Cypriot opponents 3-1 at the Letzigrund.

Apollon had taken a the lead through Brazilian forward Rosa but Berat Djimsiti levelled and Chikhaoui's cool head guaranteed all three points.

Celtic won through to the knockout stages of the Europa League for the first time despite a 3-1 defeat by already-qualified Salzburg in Group D.

Dinamo Zagreb's 1-0 loss at Astra in the other Group D game meant Ronny Deila's side are uncatchable by both those sides with only a trip to Croatia remaining.

The Scottish champions, however, were in disarray in the early stages against Salzburg as Brazilian striker Alan struck twice in a dramatic first 13 minutes and the visitors might have stretched their lead before Hoops' midfielder Stefan Johansen reduced the leeway with a drive on the half-hour mark.

The home side dominated the second period but could not get back on level terms before Salzburg substitute Naby Keita grabbed a breakaway third in injury time but it mattered not as Dinamo failed to win against the Romanians.

Dinamo Moscow produced a strong second-half performance to come from a goal down to beat Panathinaikos 2-1 and maintain their grip at the top of Group E.

The match between Estoril and PSV Eindhoven was abandoned at half-time due to a waterlogged pitch.

Goals from Toze Marreco, Kuca and Diogo Amado gave Estoril a 3-2 lead at the end of a remarkable first half, in which PSV had led twice in the first quarter-hour through Memphis Depay and Luciano Narsingh.

But that was as far as the match got as large areas of the playing surface at Praia's Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota began to flood. PSV indicated on Twitter that the first half would stand, with the second to be played at a future date.

Club Brugge had goalkeeper Mathew Ryan to thank for stonewalling Torino in a goalless draw in Group B that puts the Belgians on the brink of reaching the Europa League's knockout round.

The Australian goalkeeper was in fine form at the Stadio Olimpico and Torino striker Josef Martinez endured an especially frustrating night while leading the Italians' frontline.

Macoumba Kandji was the hero for HJK Helsinki with a stoppage-time winner only moments after Per Nilsson thought he had snatched a crucial point for FC Copenhagen.

Kandji headed home in the third minute of time added on to give Helsinki a 2-1 win which keeps their hopes alive, while Copenhagen crash out.

Club Brugge are three points ahead of final-day opponents HJK Helsinki and boast a superior goal difference, however, meaning their progression from Group B should be a formality.

Only a Helsinki victory in Brugge on matchday six would eliminate Torino, who next visit FC Copenhagen, from the competition.

Lokeren kept their Europa League qualification hopes alive with a 1-0 win over Group L leaders Legia Warsaw.

Hans Vanaken's seventh-minute goal was enough to end the Poles' 100 percent record in the group.

But 10-man Trabzonspor beat Metalist Kharkiv 3-1 to remain three points ahead of Peter Maes' side, who must now win when the two sides meet in a fortnight to pip the Turkish outfit to second place on head-to-head record.

Dynamo Kiev qualified from Group J thanks to a 2-0 victory over Rio Ave.

Jeremain Lens opened the scoring in the 53rd minute for the Ukrainian side before Miguel Veloso's header with just over 10 minutes remaining ensured Dynamo would not relinquish top spot.

The win put Serhiy Rebrov's side clear on 12 points after their win over already-eliminated Rio Ave.

AaB beat Steaua Bucharest 1-0 as Thomas Enevoldsen's second-half winner handed them a big boost in their bid to reach the last 32.

The on-loan Mechelen midfielder grabbed the game's only goal with a neat volley 18 minutes from the end at Nordjyske Arena, moving the Danish side into second place in Group J -- two points above their visitors -- with one round of matches remaining.