Italian teams Juventus and Sampdoria were knocked out of the Europa League on Wednesday and holders Atletico Madrid were staring at an early exit after a 3-2 home defeat by Greek side Aris.
Yet Milan's defensive frailty was punished when Konstantinos Fortounis scored from the penalty spot in the 81st minute to give his side the win that left them second in Group F on 10 points.
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.
Burnley reached the Europa League third qualifying round with a 3-1 win over Aberdeen after extra time at Turf Moor on Thursday but now face another tough battle to increase their squad size.
New Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp made it three wins from his last three matches with a 1-0 success at Rubin Kazan in Russia that left them second in Group B, two points behind Swiss club Sion on Thursday.
Troubled AC Milan were held to a goalless draw by AEK Athens
Arsenal teenager Bukayo Saka scored his first goal for the club as they beat 10-man Eintracht Frankfurt 3-0, while Manchester United's 17-year-old Mason Greenwood secured a 1-0 win over FC Astana as the Europa League group stage began on Thursday.
Thirteen teams have now qualified for the last 32 including Bayer Leverkusen, FC Zurich and Lazio who had already secured places in the next stage of the competition.
Europa League favourites Manchester United secured a 1-1 draw on a threadbare pitch at Rostov, while Olympique Lyonnais beat AS Roma 4-2 helped by a fine individual goal from Nabil Fekir in their last 16, first leg ties on Thursday.
Goals from Jan Vertonghen and Jermain Defoe left Tottenham Hotspur on the cusp of the Europa League knockout stages as four other clubs maintained perfect starts on Thursday.
Manchester United's Paul Pogba and Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored a goal in each half as their team comfortably outclassed Ajax Amsterdam to win an emotional Europa League final 2-0 and qualify for the group stages of the Champions League.
'Following a meeting this afternoon, the SAG have formally written to the club and UEFA to advise no away fans will be permitted to attend Villa Park for this fixture.'
Four-time European Champions Ajax Amsterdam were felled at the first hurdle of the continent's second tier Europa League on Thursday, exiting in the group stage two days after rivals PSV Eindhoven celebrated long-awaited success.
Red Star, who won the European Cup in 1991 and reached the latter stages the following season, finished second in Group H behind Arsenal who crushed BATE Borisov 6-0.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
IMAGES from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League group matches played on Tuesday night.
Bilbao condemn fans behaviour in Europa League match at Roma
United climbed to fourth in the standings on 15 points going into the last round of matches, in a strong position to reach the knockout phase along with Spurs who are sixth with 14 points.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
However, the EFL, which manages the three divisions below the Premier League, said that matches will return as scheduled from Tuesday while the Premier League resumes this weekend.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return to the starting line-up as Manchester United sealed a place in the Europa League knock-out rounds with a 3-0 victory over Sheriff Tiraspol at Old Trafford on Thursday.
The value of an in-form striker was underlined as Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao needed goals from pivotal front men to grab vital wins that booked places in the Europa League last 32 on Thursday.
Barcelona were drawn in Group E with Bayern Munich, Benfica and Dynamo Kyiv.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday
Images from action in the Europa League matches on Thursday.
Paul Pogba repaid some of his world record transfer fee with two goals as Manchester United rediscovered their early-season shine, cruising to a 4-1 Europa League win over Fenerbahce to go top of their group on Thursday. Pogba scored a penalty and rifled United's third into the top corner. Anthony Martial also netted from the spot and Jesse Lingard fired home in the second half before former Old Trafford favourite Robin van Persie pulled one back for Fenerbahce. Inter Milan and AS Roma, though, had more testing evenings. Coach Frank de Boer breathed a sigh of relief when Inter survived an onslaught from Southampton to end a three-match losing streak with a 1-0 victory while Roma conceded twice late on to draw 3-3 at home to Austria Vienna.
If two or more clubs are level on points at the end of the group stage, a number of criteria will be taken into consideration to decide the qualifiers for the next round, starting with the head-to-head record among the teams in question. It then goes to superior goal difference and then goals scored in those matches.
A summary of Thursday's matches in the Europa League.
The decision followed talks with Greek authorities, UEFA said.
Xabi Alonso has signed a three-year contract until June 2028 and the 43-year-old replaces Carlo Ancelotti, who took charge of his last game on Saturday.
Liverpool overcame an early scare and came from a goal down to claim a 3-1 win at Austria's LASK Linz.
Real Madrid will play local rivals Atletico Madrid while Bayern Munich were drawn against Bundesliga title challengers Bayer Leverkusen on Friday.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Manchester United kicked off their Europa League campaign poorly, losing 0-1 at home to Real Sociedad, while Arsenal's new signing Marquinhos scored in a 2-1 win at FC Zurich on Thursday.
The match was called off a day before the fixture after Spurs manager Antonio Conte said eight players and five members of staff had tested positive for COVID-19.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Going into the ground, some Israel fans wore both Israeli and French colours. Two wore a t-shirt with Israeli club side Maccabi Tel Aviv's logo on the front and the words "Ni Oubli Ni Pardon" (Never Forgive Never Forget) on the back.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Liverpool shrugged off the absence of Mohamed Salah as midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai scored an 88th-minute penalty to give them a 1-0 Champions League win at Inter Milan.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances