5 hours Ago By Faiz Ahmed
Both Manchester United and Tottenham have all but sealed automatic qualification to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Europa League following thrilling wins for both teams last night. Dive in to find out more about the resutls! New Delhi: The penultimate Matchday of the UEFA Europa League concluded in thrilling fashion last night as the qualification scenarios become clearer for all teams involved. Manchester United clinched a thrilling win at home at the death while Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham scrapped past Hoffenheim in Germany as they almost blew away a two goal lead.
Both English club’s find respite in Europe after troubling domestic campaigns. Elsewhere, Lazio continue their impressive European campaign as a commanding win over Real Sociedad sees them top the UEFA Europa League table with a three point lead over second placed Eintracht Frankfurt. Both United and Spurs find themselves in the top eight as well with the Red Devils sitting in fourth and Spurs occupying the sixth spot.
The biggest shock of the round was provided by Latvian side FK RFS who gained their first win of the season by defeating Ajax. Let’s dive in to find out more about matchday seven! Manchester United 2-1 Rangers Hoffenheim 2-3 Tottenham Son Heung-min’s brace powered Tottenham Hotspur to a much-needed 3-2 victory over Hoffenheim, easing the pressure on the struggling Premier League side. James Maddison opened the scoring in the fourth minute with a clinical finish after a smart assist from Pedro Porro.
Son doubled the lead midway through the first half, with his deflected strike looping past the Hoffenheim goalkeeper. Spurs held a comfortable two goal lead at halftime which looked like this would be a routine win for the Lilywhites but the Bundesliga outfit had plans of their own. Hoffenheim fought back after halftime, and Anton Stach scored in the 68th minute to keep the hosts in the contest.
However, Spurs’ talisman, Son doubled his tally with a sublime strike into the far corner in the 77th minute which ultimately proved decisive as David Mokwa scored another for Hoffenheim two minutes from time to ensure a nervy end to the game. The win moves Spurs to sixth in their group, and a victory against Elfsborg in their final game would likely secure automatic passage to the knockout stage as Hoffenheim stare at the face of elimination as they sit outside the top 24. Other Results It was a contrasting night for the two Rome-based clubs as Lazio sealed a comfortable 3-1 win over Real Sociedad to maintain top spot in the standings but AS Roma’s troubling season continued with a 1-0 loss to AZ Alkmaar.
Roma are desperately hanging on to a place in the playoff round and need to win their final game to ensure that. Greek side Olympiacos produced a shock 1-0 win over FC Porto which leaves the Portuguese giants outside the top 24 following the penultimate matchday of the tournament. Eintracht Frankfurt are close behind Lazio in the table and maintained their charge with an easy 2-0 win over Hungarian side Ferencvárosi.
Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce played out a 0-0 draw with Olympique Lyon to boost their chances of a playoff spot as they occupy the 23rd spot in the table, just ahead of Turkish rivals Besiktas, who moved to 24th following former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s debut win earlier in matchday seven. Ole’s side beat Spanish giants comfortably with a 4-1 thrashing at home. Click for more latest Football news .
Also get top headlines and latest news from India and around the world at News9. Faiz Ahmed is a passionate and budding sports journalist with a keen interest particularly in football. He is a fan of the game he writes about, which allows him to cater to the ones that make the sport, the fans themselves.
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