Europa League roundup: What happened on Matchday 5?

Matchday 5 of the Europa League was contested on Thursday across various kickoff times. Several sides qualified for the knockout stage, while others are forced to wait until the final slate of group matches to confirm their progression to the next round.

Late kickoffs

Group A

APOEL will join Sevilla in the next round after beating Dudelange to secure second place in the group. Qarabag, who lost to the Spanish side on Thursday, can no longer catch the Cypriot club in the standings due to their inferior head-to-head results, and they’ve officially bowed out of the competition.

Group B

FC Copenhagen and Malmo secured victories on Thursday to improve their chances of advancing out of the group. But the threat of missing out on the knockout stage persists, as third-place Dynamo Kyiv are still alive heading into the final matchday despite losing a heartbreaker against Malmo after conceding a 96th-minute goal in a wild 4-3 defeat.

Group D

Sporting CP qualified for the knockout round with a decisive 4-0 victory that ended PSV Eindhoven’s hopes of getting out of the group. LASK, the surprise package of the opening stage, will join the Portuguese side in the round of 32 following a 2-1 away win at Rosenborg.

Group E

The battle for second place will be decided on Matchday 6, as Lazio secured an important win over CFR Cluj to move within three points of the Romanian club. Lazio need another win when they travel to Rennes for any hope of finishing behind leaders Celtic, who clinched the top spot in the group on Thursday.

Group F

Arsenal blew yet another opportunity to snatch a place in the last 32 after Eintracht Frankfurt came from behind to beat the Gunners 2-1 in north London. The German club now trails Arsenal by a point with one match to go, while Standard Liege hold a slim chance of sneaking into the knockout phase heading into Matchday 6.

Early kickoffs

Group C

FC Basel secured progression with a victory against Getafe on Nov. 7. Neither Getafe nor Russians Krasnodar could qualify on Matchday 5, and with the latter’s win over Basel paired with the Spaniards’ victory at Trabzonspor, both sides are locked on nine points before they face off on Dec. 12 in Madrid.

Group G

FC Porto scored a late winner to keep their Europa League hopes alive and deny Young Boys an opportunity to progress to the knockout stage. After drawing with Feyenoord on Thursday, Rangers will enter the final matchday as leaders of the group with a one-point edge over Porto and Young Boys. It’s all to play for in this quartet, as all four sides remain in contention.

Group H

Espanyol locked up the top spot Thursday by earning a point against Ferencvaros thanks to a 96th-minute goal from Sergi Darder. Ludogorets sit second on seven points after their draw against CSKA Moscow. The Bulgarian and Hungarian sides are in contention for second place heading into the final matchday, while the Russians have been eliminated from contention.

Group I

A point against Saint-Etienne was enough to guarantee Gent’s progression to the knockout round, while Wolfsburg also moved on by beating Oleksandriya. The two will battle it out in the final match of the opening stage to determine which side finishes atop the group.

Group J

Borussia Monchengladbach’s narrow win at Wolfsberger and Roma’s resounding 3-0 result at Istanbul Basaksehir put Thursday’s victors joint-top on eight points, with the Turkish side one-point adrift ahead of a pivotal trip to Germany for the group finale.

Group K

Braga stormed back from two goals down at home to Wolves in a frenzied affair to move top with a 3-3 draw. Both sides secured progression after Slovan Bratislava coughed up a one-goal lead at previously point-less Besiktas in a 2-1 defeat.

Group L

With qualification secured on Matchday 4, Jesse Lingard scored his first goal in 307 days for Manchester United before Dmitri Shomko’s second-half effort and an own-goal from teenage debutant Di-Shon Bernard confirmed Astana’s first victory of the competition. Meanwhile, AZ Alkmaar fought back with two goals during the final three minutes of regular time against Partizan Belgrade to eliminate the Serbians from contention. AZ join Manchester United in progressing from the quartet, with the Dutch side visiting Old Trafford on Matchday 6 to determine the group winner.