Europa League 2016: Updated Tables, Scores After Thursday's Group Results

Southampton were beaten 1-0 by Sparta Prague at the Generali Arena in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday. A first-half goal from defender Costa Nhamoinesu was all it took to down a Southampton side lacking in creativity and quality in attack.

The result means the Saints will have to beat or at least draw 0-0 at home against Hapoel Be'er Sheva at St Mary's Stadium in their final Group K match to qualify.

Hapoel came back from two down to shock Inter Milan 3-2 at the Turner Stadium. It means Inter are out of the competition after setting an unwanted first in club history, according to Squawka Football:

Meanwhile, Wayne Rooney inspired Manchester United to a vital win in Group A. Rooney scored to make club history before assisting Juan Mata's goal to help United see off Feyenoord 4-0 at Old Trafford.

Here are the results from Thursday's group matches:

Group	Home	Score	Away
A	Fenerbahce	2-0	Zorya
A	Manchester United	4-0	Feyenoord
B	FC Astana	2-1	Apoel Nicosia
B	Olympiakos	1-1	Young Boys
C	Gabala	1-3	Anderlecht
C	Saint Etienne	0-0	Mainz
D	Zenit St. Petersburg	2-0	Maccabi Tel-Aviv
D	Dundalk	0-1	AZ Alkmaar
E	Austria Vienna	1-2	Astra Giurgiu
E	AS Roma	4-1	Viktoria Plzen
F	Athletic Bilbao	3-2	Sassuolo
F	Genk	1-0	Rapid Vienna
G	Ajax	2-0	Panathinaikos
G	Celta Vigo	1-1	Standard Liege
H	Gent	2-2	SC Braga
H	Shakhtar Donetsk	4-0	Konyaspor
I	Schalke 04	2-0	Nice
I	Krasnodar	1-1	Salzburg
J	Fiorentina	2-3	PAOK
J	Slovan Liberec	3-0	Qarabag
K	Sparta Prague	1-0	Southampton
K	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	3-2	Inter Milan
L	Zurich	1-1	Villarreal
L	Steaua Bucharest	2-1	Osmanlispor

Here are the updated standings:

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Fenerbahce	5	3	1	1	1	10
2	Manchester United	5	3	0	2	6	9
3	Feyenoord	5	2	1	2	-3	7
4	FC Zorya	5	0	2	3	-4	2

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Apoel	5	3	0	2	0	9
2	Olympiakos	5	2	2	1	3	8
3	Young Boys	5	1	2	2	0	5
4	FC Astana	5	1	2	2	-3	5

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Anderlecht	5	3	2	0	9	11
2	Saint Etienne	5	2	3	0	2	9
3	Mainz	5	1	3	1	-4	6
4	Gabala	5	0	0	5	-7	0

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Zenit	5	5	0	0	10	15
2	AZ Alkmaar	5	1	2	2	-5	5
3	Dundalk	5	1	1	3	-2	4
4	Maccabi Tel-Aviv	5	1	1	3	-3	4

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	AS Roma	5	3	2	0	9	11
2	Astra	5	2	1	2	-3	7
3	Austria Vienna	5	1	2	2	-2	5
4	Viktoria Plzen	5	0	3	2	-4	3

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Genk	5	3	0	2	2	9
2	Athletic Bilbao	5	3	0	2	-1	9
3	Rapid Vienna	5	1	2	2	-1	5
4	Sassuolo	5	1	2	2	0	5

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Ajax	5	4	1	0	5	13
2	Standard Liege	5	1	3	1	2	6
3	Celta Vigo	5	1	3	1	1	6
4	Panathinaikos	5	0	1	4	-8	1

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Shakhtar Donetsk	5	5	0	0	14	15
2	Braga	5	1	3	1	0	6
3	Gent	5	1	2	2	-5	5
4	Konyaspor	5	0	1	4	-9	1

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Schalke 04	5	5	0	0	8	15
2	Krasnodar	5	2	1	2	1	7
3	Salzburg	5	1	1	3	-2	4
4	Nice	5	1	0	4	-7	3

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Fiorentina	5	3	1	1	8	10
2	Qarabag	5	2	1	2	-4	7
3	PAOK	5	2	1	2	-1	7
4	Slovan Liberec	5	1	1	3	-3	4

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Sparta Prague	5	4	0	1	3	12
2	Hapoel Be'er Sheva	5	2	1	2	0	7
3	Southampton	5	2	1	2	2	7
4	Inter Milan	5	1	0	4	-5	3

Position	Club	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	Goal Difference	Points
1	Osmanlispor	5	2	1	2	1	7
2	Steaua Bucharest	5	1	3	1	-1	6
3	Zurich	5	1	3	1	0	6
4	Villarreal	5	1	3	1	0	6

Recap

The Saints only needed to better Hapoel Be'er Sheva's result in Group K but made things hard for themselves once Costa had given Sparta a first-half lead. The Zimbabwe defender tucked in a finish from close range to pile the pressure on Southampton in the Czech capital.

However, Saints chief Claude Puel had picked a strong starting XI loaded with quality in attacking areas. Puel needed more from pacy duo Nathan Redmond and Jay Rodriguez, though.

The Saints had controlled proceedings, but struggles up front meant they went in trailing at the break, according to Squawka Football:

Needing a spark, Puel introduced target man Charlie Austin off the bench. His aerial presence helped the Saints go more direct.

Yet a different approach didn't translate to greater menace up top. Even with Austin and Shane Long in attack, the Saints weren't creating shooting chances:

In fact, an errant header from Virgil van Dijk was the closest they came to finding an equaliser. Sadly, the centre-back headed over when he should have scored.

Elsewhere in the group, Inter Milan were flexing their own attacking muscle against Hapoel, as Mauro Icardi and Marcelo Brozovic both netted in the opening 25 minutes.

Striker Icardi just loves this competition, as the tournament's official Twitter account noted:

Icardi deftly turned in a smart cross from crafty forward Eder. The 30-year-old Italy international has become quite a source of supply for Inter this season:

However, Inter haven't found it easy to hold leads and stay tight at the back during this campaign. Those same problems were evident when Lucio Maranhao got one back for Hapoel before Anthony Nwakaeme equalised from the spot.

The pressure was now truly on the Saints to improve in Prague. Inter's collapse was complete when Ben Sahar notched the winner in stoppage time.

It's now all on Southampton's match against Hapoel at St Mary's Stadium on Matchday 6.

As for United, it was time for much-maligned Rooney to offer a reminder of his quality. A delicate dink finish to put United ahead in the first half did just that.

The goal also gave Rooney a place to himself in the club's record books:

Rooney's always been prolific in front of goal, but an equally important part of his game has been an ability to create. And he turned keen provider to tee up Mata for United's second after the hour mark.

The numbers show United's No. 10 hasn't lost his knack for supply:

An own goal and a Jesse Lingard strike closed out United's night in style.

Like United, Roma scored four in a stylish win over Viktoria Plzen in Group E. The Italian outfit were inspired by former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko, who helped himself to a rare hat-trick:

Roma's other goal came courtesy of a spectacular rabona flick from Diego Perotti. The impish moment of skill provided the highlight of an impressive display from the group leaders.

While United and Roma were making their moves, Athletic Bilbao were surviving a thriller against Sassuolo in Group F. As they often do, the Basque side found inspiration from a familiar source.

Ageing but still prolific striker Aritz Aduriz scored to put Bilbao 2-1 ahead of their Serie A opponents. Inigo Lekue scored Athletic's third before Antonino Ragusa ensured a nervy finish by bagging Sassuolo's second.

Bilbao hung on, though, and are now level on points at the top of the group.

In Group G, Celta Vigo kept on pace to qualify thanks to Iago Aspas. The former Liverpool forward scored after just eight minutes to stun Standard Liege in Spain.

Aspas has been in fine scoring form this season:

But Liege hit back when Cyprus international Konstantinos Laifis struck nine minutes from time.

Vigo needed Aspas' goal because group leaders Ajax were making comfortable work of beating Panathinaikos in Amsterdam. Skipper Lasse Schone opened the scoring before Kenny Tete doubled the lead five minutes into the second half.

Ajax bossed the game with their typical brand of neat and intricate football. In particular, ball-playing defender Matthijs de Ligt showed off his comfort in possession during the first half, per OptaJohan:

Meanwhile, Shakhtar Donetsk laid down a marker in Group H by beating Konyaspor 4-0 in Ukraine. Brazilians Dentinho and Bernard accounted for two of the goals.

Ex-Arsenal striker Eduardo da Silva also got his name on the scoresheet after coming off the bench.

This is a squad loaded with technical quality in the final third, and no club should welcome facing Shakhtar in the next round.

Many may feel the same way about a United starting to click into gear on manager Jose Mourinho's watch.