IMAGES from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has been left out of the 18-man squad travelling to face Danish side FC Midtjylland in the Europa League on Thursday, the Premier League club said on their website (www.manutd.com). With United fifth in the league table, six points off the top-four, the 30-year-old striker recently said that winning the Europa League or the FA Cup could save their disappointing season. Combative midfielder Marouane Fellaini was another notable absentee and full back Matteo Darmian will not be involved after dislocating his shoulder during Saturday's 2-1 league defeat by Sunderland.
While Spurs play Inter Milan at home in Champions League on Wednesday, on Thursday, Arsenal face a long trip to Ukraine to play Vorskla Poltava in the Europa League, needing a victory to consolidate first place in the group.
Holders Porto will face Premier League leaders Manchester City while former European champions Ajax Amsterdam will meet Manchester United in two glittering Europa League Round-of-32 ties following Friday's draw.
Images from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
United lost 3-2 at home to a fearless and skilful Athletic Bilbao, their second successive European defeat at Old Trafford, in the first leg of their round-of-16 tie. Central defender Xandao scored with a cheeky back-heel to give Sporting a 1-0 win over City in Lisbon, ending the Premier League leaders' run of six straight wins.
The 24 sides through from the group phase join the eight third-placed finishers in the Champions League in Monday's draw, including Manchester United and Ajax Amsterdam.
VfB Stuttgart had to come from two goals down against Norwegian outsiders Molde on Thursday to scrape into the final qualifying round of the Europa League.
Liverpool striker Dirk Kuyt headed a late goal to send the five-times European champions into the last 16 of the Europa League with a 1-0 victory over a defiant Sparta Prague at Anfield on Thursday.
Chelsea FC made a loss despite a rise in revenue as they finished fourth in the Premier League and won the Europa Conference League in the 2024-25 season.
Liverpool diced with elimination before scoring two late goals to win 2-1 at Trabzonspor and squeeze into the Europa League on Thursday while Swiss second division side Lausanne came through with a shock win over Lokomotiv Moscow.
Besiktas's Europa League game at home to Tottenham Hotspur was suspended twice on Thursday after the floodlights failed in each half before the Turkish side won 1-0.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Tottenham Hotspur have appointed Roberto De Zerbi as their manager on a long-term contract, the Premier League club said on Tuesday, and the Italian coach has seven games to steer the North London side to safety.
Financially troubled Spanish club Real Mallorca have been excluded from this season's European competition by governing body UEFA.
Holders Sevilla swept into a second consecutive Europa League final.
'The Europa League is a massive thing for us now -- it's a trophy and it gives us qualification for the Champions League. With the players we have got, we can be unstoppable'
Images from UEFA Europa League semi-finals played on Thursday.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Former European champions Steaua Bucharest and English Premier League Southampton suffered shock defeats by Scandinavian teams in Europa League qualifiers on Thursday.
Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker says the players are focused on winning the Europa League as well as their four remaining Premier League games to give manager Arsene Wenger the perfect send-off.
Alexandre Lacazette's free-kick sent Arsenal into the Europa League semi-finals with a comfortable 1-0 win away over Napoli, while Chelsea beat Slavia Prague 4-3 in a roller-coaster game, helped by a Pedro brace.
Diego Forlan scrambled an early goal to give Atletico Madrid a deserved 1-0 win over a lethargic-looking Liverpool in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday.
AC Milan have been drawn to play Manchester United in what is the standout tie in next month's Europa League round of 16.
After a collective blow-out in the Champions League, England has a three-pronged attack on Europe's second tier competition with Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United all vying for Europa League success.
Napoli recovered from three goals down to draw 3-3 at Steaua Bucharest in the Europa League on Thursday as holders Atletico Madrid were held 1-1 by Bayer Leverkusen.
West Ham United were knocked out of the Europa League in the third qualifying round on Thursday after a 2-1 defeat at Romanian side Astra Giurgiu.
Javier Saviola and Oscar Cardozo scored two goals apiece and defender Luisao was also on target as Benfica thumped Everton 5-0 in the Europa League on Thursday.
Barcelona will face a struggling Galatasaray team who are 13th in the Turkish top-flight.
Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck a vital late goal to seal a 3-1 win over Valencia on Thursday and give his side breathing space for the second leg of their Europa League semi-final in Spain next week.
Manchester United fans are planning to protest against being asked to pay 71 pounds ($101.5) per ticket for their Europa League away match against Danish league winners Midtjylland on Thursday, according to reports in the British media.
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.
Manchester United loosened Arsenal's grip on the Premier League title race with a 3-2 win in north London on Sunday.
Manchester United must learn to ignore their critics as their performances may have been affected by the intense scrutiny the team have been under throughout the campaign, manager Louis van Gaal said on Wednesday.
The Manchester clubs' wretched continental seasons ended on Thursday as outclassed United and battling City suffered contrasting Europa League last-16 exits to an exhilarating Athletic Bilbao and a fortunate Sporting respectively.
Olympique de Marseille were the fall guys on a hectic opening night of Europa League group stage action as German club Eintracht Frankfurt returned from the south of France with a surprise 2-1 victory on Thursday.
Chelsea will face Dynamo Kiev at home in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie, while London rivals Arsenal will travel to Rennes following Friday's draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
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.
An impudent individual goal from Philippe Coutinho steered Liverpool comfortably into the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Thursday after a 1-1 draw at bitter rivals Manchester United completed a 3-1 aggregate win.
Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen cruised into the Europa League knockout stage with emphatic wins on Thursday but holders Atletico Madrid and former winners Liverpool suffered surprise defeats.
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