Arsenal had scored 10 goals in two matches against BATE Borisov in the same competition in 2017 but never looked like being as prolific in the freezing temperatures of Belarus.
Unai Emery's side were heading for a demoralising defeat, three days after losing meekly to Sheffield United in the Premier League, but substitute Pepe's late intervention kept the Gunners top of Group F with a maximum nine points.
The UEFA Cup will be renamed the UEFA Europa League from next season in an effort to boost the competition that has lost much of its appeal, European soccer's governing body said on Friday.
Villarreal's Adrian Lopez produced a stinging sucker punch in stoppage time to leave Liverpool reeling and move the Spaniards closer to a maiden European final after their Europa League last four first leg clash finished 1-0 on Thursday.
Bruges scored four times in the last 17 minutes to beat Maribor 4-3 in the Europa League on Wednesday while Atletico Madrid and PAOK Salonika were among six teams to qualify for the knockout stage.
Liverpool added another fairytale comeback to the history books as they fought back from 3-1 down against Borussia Dortmund to reach the Europa League semi-finals after Dejan Lovren's towering stoppage-time header secured a 4-3 win on Thursday.
Manchester United's hopes of salvaging their season in the Europa League suffered a stinging setback when they lost 2-1 at Danish side Midtjylland in the first leg of their last-32 clash on Thursday.
Porto's Radamel Falcao scored a hat-trick to help the newly-crowned Portuguese champions thrash Spartak Moscow 5-1 as goals flowed and South American players shone in Europa League quarter-final first leg ties on Thursday.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp enjoyed a satisfying return to Borussia Dortmund as his new side frustrated his former charges and claimed a valuable away goal to draw 1-1 in their Europa League quarter-final, first leg on Thursday.
Sevilla coach Unai Emery has been picking the brains of Juande Ramos as he tries to plot the downfall of Ukrainian outsiders Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in Wednesday's Europa League final.
Bayer Leverkusen are the first team in the history of the Bundesliga to complete a full season without a loss.
Chelsea winger Eden Hazard will miss Wednesday's Europa League final against Benfica with a hamstring strain while John Terry's ankle problem is still being assessed, interim manager Rafa Benitez said.
Liverpool hammered Sparta Prague 6-1 on Thursday to storm into the Europa League quarter-finals 11-2 on aggregate.
Liverpool and Ajax Amsterdam, who have won the European Cup nine times between them, failed to reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League after making embarrassing exits from the competition on Thursday.
A summary of Thursday's matches in Europe's second tier club football tournament
Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa haunted Arsenal again by firing his side to a 1-0 win in Thursday's Europa League semi-final second leg to send the Spaniards into the final and deny Arsene Wenger a dream end to his long reign as Arsenal coach.
Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee bagged two goals apiece as Manchester United thumped Everton 4-0 on Sunday in new manager Ruben Amorim's first Premier League match at Old Trafford.
Tottenham Hotspur exposed the weaknesses in Anzhi Makhachkala's star-shorn squad, winning 2-0 in Moscow to maintain their perfect start in the second round of Europa League group stage matches on Thursday.
Aris Salonika maintained their 41-year unbeaten home record in European competition by holding Manchester City to a 0-0 draw in their Europa League last-32 first leg on Tuesday.
A stoppage-time goal from Branislav Ivanovic helped Chelsea become the first English club to win all three of UEFA's major trophies as they beat Benfica 2-1 in the Europa League final.
Manchester City have now won only once in 11 games in all competitions.
Napoli began their Europa League group stage campaign in scintillating fashion.
Tottenham Hotspur trounced a sorry Inter Milan 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday while last year's European champions Chelsea were humbled 1-0 by Steaua Bucharest after being stung by a Raul Rusescu penalty.
Fernando Torres left Chelsea fans wondering if they would ever see the striker who once terrorised defences after another forlorn performance as they limped into the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday.
Russian clubs ruled the Europa League roost on Thursday as Rubin Kazan upset holders Atletico Madrid while Anzhi Makhachkala and Zenit St Petersburg opened up commanding first-leg advantages in their last 32 ties.
Bayer Leverkusen won their first trophy in 31 years with five matches left in the season, snapping Bayern Munich's 11-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga.
Manchester United flirted with calamity before coasting into the Europa League last 16 as debutant Marcus Rashford helped them overcome an early blow with two goals in a 5-1 home victory over Midtjylland on Thursday.
Benfica's Paraguay forward Oscar Cardozo converted two second-half penalties to help them come from behind and beat 10-man Liverpool 2-1 as the Europa League dished up more drama in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
Manchester City won an unprecedented fourth straight English top flight title with a 3-1 win over West Ham United.
The return fixtures will be played on May 11 and the final in Stockholm on May 24.
Five-times European champions Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat at Lille after a late goal by forward Eden Hazard while Juventus beat underdogs Fulham 3-1 in Europa League last 16 first leg matches on Thursday.
Samuel Eto'o scored twice to give ambitious Anzhi Makhachkala a 2-0 Europa League win over Young Boys on Thursday while Liverpool lost 3-2 at home to Udinese and Videton, Sparta Prague and Molde pulled off surprise wins.
Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid overcame German opposition to reach the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday while fellow Spaniards Valencia joined them by demolishing AZ Alkmaar.
Diego Forlan's extra-time effort sent Atletico Madrid into the Europa League final on away goals at the expense of Liverpool after a 2-2 aggregate draw on Thursday. Atletico will meet Fulham in the May 12 final in Hamburg where they will bid to win their first major European trophy since the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1962.
Fiorentina tore apart Italian rivals AS Roma to reach the Europa League quarter-finals with a 3-0 win that left their opponents' season in tatters and under-fire coach Rudi Garcia tottering on the brink of the sack.
Lazio have been fined 40,000 euros for racist behaviour by their fans during the Europa League tie at Tottenham Hotspur last month, UEFA said on Thursday.
Atletico Madrid striker Radamel Falcao scored two superb goals and Diego added a late third to seal a commanding 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the all-Spanish Europa League final on Wednesday.
Liverpool are "100 percent" ready for the Europa League final against defending champions Sevilla on May 18, manager Juergen Klopp said on Friday.
Ten Hag's contract was set to expire at the end of the 2024-25 season but denying Manchester City a domestic double and qualifying for the Europa League earned him another chance.
Sevilla's love affair with the Europa League was immediately rekindled as last season's champions and three-time winners began this year's group stage with a 2-0 home victory over Feyenoord on Thursday.
