Aston Villa secured a top-eight finish in the Europa League after Jadon Sancho’s first-half header gave them a 1-0 victory over Fenerbahce in Turkey. Villa’s win was their sixth from seven European matches this season and ended Fenerbahce’s unbeaten home record.
Sancho opened his account in Villa colours to put the visitors in the driving seat amid a loud Sukru Saracoglu Stadium atmosphere.
The Premier League side had to deal with several injury problems this week and their mettle was more than tested in the second half as their goalkeeper Marco Bizot stepped up in the absence of Emi Martínez to make eight saves to preserve their lead.
The Villa manager, Unai Emery, said it was important to qualify for the last 16 in tough circumstances. “Europa League is important for us and we have got in the top eight and this is the most important now of course,” he said.
“Building the team with some circumstances not helping us but next week we can finish the transfer window and hopefully we can get everything we need to complete the squad for the competitions we have.”
Morgan Rogers had a goal scrubbed out for offside but Villa had a reprieve themselves when Kemer Akturkoglu thought he had equalised, only for VAR to intervene for a second time.
Villa looked lively from the off, Rogers’ back-heel fed Ollie Watkins but his goalbound effort was blocked behind by Mert Muldur in their first real opening on goal.
The visitors went ahead, though, in the 25th minute. Some neat play ended at the feet of Matty Cash, whose cross flicked off the head of Ismail Yuksek and on to the head of Sancho, who nodded the ball beyond Ederson.
Villa ought to have doubled their advantage before the break. Rogers found Sancho, who sat a couple of defenders down and thought he would roll it into an empty goal but Milan Skriniar produced a heroic block.
Bizot produced a stunning save to keep Villa’s lead intact as he rushed out to stop the substitute Talisca from point-blank range.
Villa thought they got their second when Rogers bundled one over the line but Sancho fractionally mistimed his run before squaring it to his teammate.
It was then Fenerbahce’s turn to have a goal chalked off through VAR as Akturkoglu saw an initial effort saved by Bizot and he tucked in the rebound but Duran was shown to be offside in the buildup as Villa held on for the win.
Martin O’Neill hailed his team’s spirit after 10-man Celtic lost a two-goal half-time lead but held on for what could be a precious point in Bologna.
Reo Hatate opened the scoring early on before receiving two yellow cards in three minutes. Auston Trusty doubled Celtic’s lead but O’Neill’s side came under sustained pressure after the interval and goals from Thijs Dallinga and Jonathan Rowe brought Bologna level.
Although the Italian side managed 37 attempts at goal in total, both teams had chances to win it before the game finished 2-2.
The result puts Celtic on eight points ahead of their final game against already eliminated Utrecht at Parkhead next week. A win should ensure Celtic qualify for the playoff round.
Hatate put Celtic ahead in the sixth minute after a gift from the Bologna goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski, who passed the ball straight to centre-forward Daizen Maeda. The Japan forward squared for his compatriot to roll into an empty net.
Skorupski partially redeemed himself moments later as he clawed Yang Hyun-jun’s shot over the bar after Hatate’s pass threatened to get Maeda in behind.
Hatate was booked for a foul on Lewis Ferguson before needlessly flicking out a boot to catch Miranda in the 34th minute as the pair chased a ball that was heading into the Bologna half. A red card followed and O’Neill also received a yellow card for his protests.
The Celtic fans were celebrating again five minutes before the break as Trusty netted in off the bar at the back post after Arne Engels had headed on Kieran Tierney’s inswinging corner.
Kasper Schmeichel saved Tommaso Pobega’s header and although Maeda swept a half-chance wide, the second half quickly developed into an onslaught of Kasper Schmeichel’s goal.
The pressure paid off in the 58th minute when Dallinga got in front of Colby Donovan to nod home from six yards after Jens Odgaard had headed on a cross.
Maeda was now playing as a supplementary wing-back as Celtic defended but the pressure was relentless. The equaliser came in the 72nd minute as the former Norwich winger Rowe made space on the edge of the box and evaded the substitute Benjamin Nygren to smash a shot into the roof of the net.
Celtic emerged from their shell and had opportunities to snatch an unlikely win. The substitute Johnny Kenny forced a save and might have been able to play Maeda in on a counterattack, though there were chances for the hosts too and Schmeichel saved from Riccardo Orsolini and Nicoloò Cambiaghi.
“The sending off had a major effect on the game,” said O’Neill. “But the effort the team put in, the spirit they showed, the willingness to get blocks in, to defend the penalty box in the manner in which they did, I thought was really, really splendid.
“My own view is that if we had stayed with 11 men, I think we would have won the game.”
Mohamed Diomande’s first-half strike gave Rangers their first Europa League win of the season as they beat Ludogorets 1-0 at Ibrox.
Although Rangers cannot reach the next stage of the competition Danny Röhl, with six wins in a row in all competitions, was looking for continued momentum as well as co-efficient points.
Striker Youssef Chermiti had a terrific chance in the ninth minute when a clever through ball from Thelo Aasgaard set him free but he shot straight at goalkeeper Hendrik Bonmann and the home side failed to capitalise on the loose ball.
Ludogorets posed little threat but in the 29th minute a slick move cut open the Rangers defence and Jack Butland had to make a crucial save from Petar Stanic’s drive.
However, after a short corner with Aasgaard and Jayden Meghoma on the left, a clutch of players fought for possession inside the visitors’ box and when Aasgaard slipped the ball to Diomande 12 yards from goal his low drive sped past the static Bonmann.
Rangers midfielder Nico Raskin had two efforts at the start of the second half to no avail, and Chermiti had a right-footed drive parried to safety by the Ludogorets keeper, who then gathered a poor chip from Mikey Moore.
At the other end, only a terrific block by home defender Emmanuel Fernandez prevented Deroy Duarte’s close-range shot getting through to test Butland, who moments later made a fine save from Caio Vidal’s angled drive.
In the 70th minute Rangers substitute Bojan Miovski hesitated when set up by Diomande inside the box and was crowded out, before Bonmann saved a Djeidi Gassama shot and then a curler from distance by another home replacement, Findlay Curtis.
Further pressure brought no more goals – and Butland had to make a save from Vidal on a Ludogorets break - but Rangers kept on the winning track.
Lyon secured their place in the next round with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Young Boys, as Ainsley Maitland-Niles struck deep into first-half stoppage time in Bern.
A late goal from Igor Matanovic gave Freiburg a 1-0 win at home against Maccabi Tel-Aviv, ensuring the German side a place in the last 16.
In Norway, a penalty in the 10th minute of stoppage time from Joachim Soltvedt rescued a 3-3 draw for Brann against the Danish side Midtjylland. And Real Betis’s strong run in the competition was jolted as they lost 2-0 at Paok.
This article will be updated