Tottenham and Liverpool both won their Europa League groups on Thursday night while Chelsea loanee Nathaniel Chalobah’s goal helped Napoli advance with the competition’s only 100 per cent record.
Erik Lamela scored a hat-trick as Spurs hammered Monaco 4-1 at White Hart Lane in Group J to qualify for the last 32 alongside Anderlecht, who were 2-1 winners over Qarabag.
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Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool rounded off their Group B campaign with their unbeaten record intact, although they drew their fourth game out of six in a goalless stalemate with second-placed Sion.
England Under-21 international Chalobah, who is yet to play a senior game for Jose Mourinho’s Blues, broke the deadlock in Naples as the Italians made it six wins from six with a resounding 5-2 success over Legia Warsaw.
We finished first in the group, a special night for my hat-trick and team play! Come on you spurs pic.twitter.com/208Sxlhz2d
— Erik Manuel Lamela (@Coco_Lamela) December 11, 2015
Their qualification had already been sealed prior to kick-off and FC Midtjylland joined them in advancing out of Group D thanks to a 1-1 draw with Club Brugge, for whom ex-Middlesbrough and Burnley forward Jelle Vossen scored.
Scottish champions Celtic bowed out without winning any of their half-a-dozen Group A fixtures.
The Bhoys were already assured of bottom spot ahead of their trip to Fenerbahce and there was no consolation victory in Turkey as Liverpool loanee Lazar Markovic scored for the hosts, capitalising on Craig Gordon’s error, before Kris Commons levelled after Diego was sent off.
It finished 1-1 in the other group’s game between Ajax and Molde too, a result that was good enough for the visitors to finish top ahead of Fener.
Sporting Lisbon came from behind to make it out of Group H as Besiktas threw away a lead given to them by Mario Gomez to lose 3-1 and go out.
Former Fulham midfielder Bryan Ruiz scored the second goal and Teofilo Gutierrez sealed the result with a goal he celebrated by using the referee’s vanishing spray.
Lokomotiv Moscow, 3-0 winners over Skenderbeu, finished at that group’s summit, while Krasnodar and Sporting Braga did likewise ahead of Borussia Dortmund and Marseille respectively.
Krasnodar were 3-0 victors over Gabala, whereas Dortmund stumbled to a 1-0 home reverse to PAOK Salonika, while Braga’s 0-0 draw with Groningen proved enough despite OM’s 4-2 triumph at Slovan Liberec.
Jürgen Klopp was delighted with the fight shown by #LFC as they drew with @FCSion https://t.co/B9zqbfBo1j pic.twitter.com/CJP6d5ECE3
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) December 10, 2015
Augsburg got the win they needed to advance behind Group L winners Athletic Bilbao – who drew 2-2 with AZ Alkmaar – as Partizan Belgrade succumbed to a 3-1 home loss to the Germans to be eliminated on goal difference.
Schalke went through in first and Sparta Prague as runners-up following their respective 4-0 and 3-1 success over Asteras Tripoli and Apoel Nicosia.
Bruno Soriano’s stoppage-time equaliser saved second-placed Villarreal in a 3-3 draw with Viktoria Plzen, who had gone ahead in the 90th minute through Tomas Horava at the Doosan Arena, but Rapid Vienna sealed Group E’s top spot with a 2-1 success over Dinamo Minsk.
St Etienne and Lazio, who had already qualified in second and first, drew 1-1 in France while Dnipro, finalists last year, bowed out with a 3-0 win over Rosenborg.
Basel and Fiorentina went through as one and two in Group I after they both defeated Lech Poznan and Belenenses 1-0 respectively.
