All group games have now been played and the final 32 teams have been confirmed for the knockout stage of the Europa League. With a few shocks and outstanding group performances, here’s what happened on Matchday 6.
JOHNSON SHINES THROUGH
A 76th minute goal secured first place for Man City in Group A as they laboured to a one all draw with Juventus.
In a game that could have been billed as one of the biggest of the group stage, it eventually amounted to nothing, with City and Lech Poznan already qualified for the knockout phase.
Not only were the squads second string, but the stadium was half empty and the football was well below par with only Adam Johnson shining on the night. His incisive running with the ball and attacking of full-backs provided the only ray of light of the match, which looked more like a training session.
19-year-old Niccolo Gianetti put the hosts ahead right before half-time when he found his way in front of Dedryck Boyata, providing a surprising end to a half of few chances and even worse execution.
The second period improved slightly, but Johnson remained dominant with a run down the right and a sharp cut inside, which opened up play and enabled a pass through to Jo.
With a fair bit of work left to do, the Brazilian forward controlled well and fired in with a sharp finish. Despite a lacklustre performance, the draw was all City needed to secure first place and avoid the rest of the group winners.
ANFIELD SUBJECTED TO BORE DRAW
Anfield was a similar scenario to the Man City game, with Liverpool already qualified and FC Utrecht already out.
The Liverpool squad was very much unchanged from the last two Europa League games and the trend of youngsters remained with Martin Kelly, Jonjo Shelvey and Danny Wilson retaining their places as well as the added experience of Joe Cole, Martin Skrtel and Fabio Aurelio.
The major chance of the game came from Milan Jovanovic when his shot was tipped onto the bar.
The game was summed up with Dirk Kuyt’s arrival into the game. The former Utrecht player got the biggest cheer of the night, but he couldn’t provide any spark in a poor game.
HOLDERS DETHRONED
Aris Thessalonki provided the biggest upset of the group stages with their victory over Rosenborg on Thursday night. Atletico Madrid had to better the Greek team’s result, but could only manage a draw away to Bayer Leverkusen; a scoreline that was eventually irrelevant due to Aris’ victory.
Atletico have been poor in this competition and couldn’t find any form to suggest they would retain their title. The two losses to Aris earlier in the group stage were the nail in the coffin for the Spanish side and their two prior victories in the group were never going to be enough for qualification.
Matchday 6 Results
Group A
Salzburg 0-1 Lech Poznan
Juventus 1-1 Manchester City
Manchester City and Lech Poznan Qualify
Group B
Bayer Leverkusen 1-1 Atletico Madrid
Aris 2-0 Rosenborg
Leverkusen and Aris Qualify
Group C
Levski Sofia 1-0 Sporting Lisbon
Lille 3-0 AA Gent
Sporting and Lille Qualify
Group D
Dinamo Zagreb 0-1 PAOK
Club Brugge 1-2 Villarreal
Villareal and PAOK Qualify
Group E
AZ Alkmaar 3-0 BATE
Dynamo Kiev 0-0 Sheriff
Dynamo Kiev and BATE Qualify
Group F
Sparta Prague 1-1 CSKA Moscow
Lausanne 0-1 Palermo
CSKA Moscow and Sparta Prague Qualify
Group G
Anderlecht 2-0 Hajduk Split
AEK 0-3 Zenit St Petersburg
Zenit and Aderlecht Qualify
Group H
Stuttgart 5-1 OB
Getafe 1-0 Young Boys
Stuttgart and Young Boys Qualify
Group I
Debrecen 2-0 Sampdoria
PSV 0-0 Metalist
PSV and Metalist Qualify
Group J
Karpaty 1-1 PSG
Sevilla 2-2 Borussia Dortmund
PSG and Sevilla Qualify
Group K
Napoli 1-0 Steaua Bucharest
Liverpool 0-0 Utrecht
Liverpool and Steaua Qualify
Group L
Besiktas 2-0 Rapid Vienna
Porto 3-1 CSKA Sofia
Porto and Besiktas Qualify