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.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
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 UEFA Europa League semi-finals played on Thursday.
Financially troubled Spanish club Real Mallorca have been excluded from this season's European competition by governing body UEFA.
'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'
Holders Sevilla swept into a second consecutive Europa League final.
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.
AC Milan have been drawn to play Manchester United in what is the standout tie in next month's Europa League round of 16.
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.
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.
Barcelona will face a struggling Galatasaray team who are 13th in the Turkish top-flight.
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.
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.
Manchester United were handed a tricky Europa League last 16 tie against Real Sociedad while Tottenham Hotspur will play Dutch side AZ Alkmaar after the draw was held on Friday, but both managers are more concerned about their Premier League form.
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 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.
Real Madrid squeezed past Atletico in a pulsating Madrid derby while Inter were held, keeping Serie A title race alive.
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.
Images from the Europa League semi-finals first Leg between Athletic Bilbao and Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Bodo/Glimt.
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.
Bastian Schweinsteiger has been left out of Manchester United's Europa League squad by coach Jose Mourinho, as the midfielder continues to be marginalised at the club.
Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozo's well-taken double fired Benfica into a Europa League final with Chelsea after they beat Fenerbahce 3-1 in Lisbon to win their semi-final 3-2 on aggregate.
Images from the Europa League matches played across Europe on Thursday.
The Netherlands cricket team is excited to play against India in their final T20 World Cup league fixture at the world's largest cricket stadium in Ahmedabad.
Triple European champions Manchester United and their under-fire coach Louis van Gaal face a tricky task against little-known Midtjylland in the last 32 of the Europa League following Monday's draw.
Liverpool twice squandered the lead, trailed 3-2 and then scored three times in the last 25 minutes to win 5-3 at Young Boys in an enthralling but blunder-prone Europa League tie on Thursday.
Napoli put a foot in the Europa League semi-finals with a perfectly crafted 4-1 win at VfL Wolfsburg on Thursday as Marek Hamsik scored twice in an Italian masterclass to bring cheer to beleaguered coach Rafael Benitez.
Fulham shrugged off the effects of 17 hours travelling on a coach to hold Hamburg SV to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final on Thursday.
Athletic Bilbao, conquerors of Manchester United in the previous round, continued their Europa League run by scoring three times in the last 20 minutes to win their quarter-final first leg tie 4-2 at Schalke 04 on Thursday.
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