Spurs, Liverpool and Bilbao make last 32; Dnipro exit
LONDON: The value of an in-form striker was underlined as Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao needed goals from pivotal front men to grab vital wins that booked places in the Europa League last 32 on Thursday.
Harry Kane’s late strike gave Spurs a 1-0 win at Qarabag, Liverpool needed Christian Benteke to dig them out of a spot of bother in a 2-1 win over Girondins Bordeaux and Bilbao had Aritz Aduriz to thank for a 3-2 comeback victory in Augsburg.
Those three sides were among 11 teams, who celebrated reaching the knockout stages of the competition.
FK Krasnodar, Lazio, St Etienne, Basel, Schalke 04, Sparta Prague, Villarreal and Braga will all be in the hat when the draw is made for next round having booked spots with one group game to spare on the marathon route to May’s final.
Last season’s surprise finalists Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, however, were brought firmly down to earth with an early exit.
Dnipro made a surprise run to the final last term but their European adventure ended early this time when a 3-1 defeat at Lazio meant they could not finish in the top two in Group ‘G’.
There was also disappointment for former European champions Celtic as they lost 2-1 at home to Ajax Amsterdam to end their hopes of reaching the next round.
Tottenham’s Kane struck in the 78th minute for his ninth goal in his last six games to ensure the English Premier League club can relax going into their final group outing.
The England striker had suffered a drought when he went eight games without a club goal at the start of the season, but questions about whether the 22-year-old could continue last term’s prolific scoring run have been long-since silenced.
After Tottenham’s Son Heung-Min and Dele Alli earlier hit the woodwork, the powerful Kane thumped home a header from a corner to move them to 10 points at the top of Group ‘J’.
Liverpool were also in need of frontline inspiration after they fell behind at home to Bordeaux when keeper Simon Mignolet was penalised for holding on to the ball too long and Henri Saivet thumped home from an indirect free kick after 33 minutes.