Europa League Results 2015: Leg 2 Play-off Scores from Thursday
Southampton crashed out of the 2015-16 Europa League on Thursday after losing the second leg of their play-off with FC Midtjylland.
Borussia Dortmund had no such problems in their match with Scandinavian opposition though, as they thrashed Odds BK 7-2 to sail through to the group stage.
Elsewhere, a 1-0 win for Athletic Bilbao saw them through on goal difference and a goalless draw was enough for Ajax to squeeze through to the next round.
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Here are the full results from Thursday's action:
| Kairat Almaty | 2-1 (2-2) | Bordeaux* |
| FK Jablonek | 0-0 (0-1) | Ajax |
| FK Qarabag | 3-0 (4-0) | Young Boys |
| Rubin Kazan | 1-0 (2-1) | Rabotnicki |
| HJK Helsinki | 0-0 (1-5) | FK Krasnodar |
| Videoton | 0-1 (0-4) | Lech Poznan |
| FC Thun | 3-3 (4-6) | Sparta Pargue |
| St Etienne | 1-0 (2-1) | Milsami Orhei |
| AZ Alkmaar | 2-0 (4-3) | Astra Giurgiu |
| Brondby IF | 1-1 (1-6) | PAOK Salonika |
| Fenerbahce | 3-0 (4-0) | Atromitos Athens |
| Hajduk Split | 0-1 (0-2) | Slovan Liberec |
| Panathinaikos | 2-2 (2-2) | FK Qabala* |
| Rosenborg | 0-1 (3-1) | Steaua Bucharest |
| Borussia Dortmund | 7-2 (11-5) | Odds BK |
| FK Vojvodina | 0-2 (0-5) | Viktoria Plzen |
| Standard Liege | 3-1 (3-3) | Molde* |
| Athletic Bilbao* | 1-0 (3-3) | MSK Zilina |
| FC Midtjylland | 1-0 (2-1) | Southampton |
| Red Bull Salzburg | 2-0 (2-2, 3-2 on penalties) | Dinamo Minsk* |
| Legia Warsaw | 3-2 (4-2) | Zorya Luhansk |
| Belenenses | 0-0 (1-0) | Rheindorf Altach |
FC Midtjylland 1 -0 Southampton
A disappointing night for the Saints saw them continue their early season struggles into the Europa League, where they were duly punished by Midtjylland.
Ronald Koeman's side began the match needing a goal having drawn their home leg 1-1, and as Opta Joe highlighted, the Saints also had to overcome their poor record in Scandinavia.
Southampton actually had their best chance of the match just four minutes in, when Jose Fonte directed a diving header at the Danish champions' goal following a corner, but Jakob Poulsen was on hand to make the all-important clearance on the line.
Steven Davies had a promising effort well saved midway through the half as Southampton pushed forward.
The Saints were soon punished for their profligacy when Morten Rasmussen capitalised on some sloppy play from Jay Rodriguez and fire past Maarten Stekelenburg.
Koeman through on Dusan Tadic and later Shane Long after the restart as Southampton pushed for a goal, but the Saints struggled to convert their dominance in possession to clear-cut chances.
The Dutchman spoke to BT Sport after the match, where he highlighted costly refereeing decisions for his side. Per BBC Sport, he said:
"In both games we were the better team, we had the most chances. We scored a goal at home that was disallowed and tonight we need a penalty for a handball from the free-kick. We worked very hard but sometimes you need good decisions. We didn't have that. In my opinion that makes the result.
"
Southampton legend Matt Le Tissier expressed his disappointment at the result, but called for calm after the club's poor start to the season:
With their hopes of a lengthy European campaign dashed for at least another year, Southampton's attention will now turn to the Premier League, where they are currently 18th. A home match with Norwich City on Sunday could be the perfect game to kick-start their season.
Borussia Dortmund 7-2 Odds BK
BVB were rampant in their high-scoring triumph over Odd as they asserted themselves as one of the teams to avoid in the group stage.
Dortmund came from three goals down in the first leg to win 4-3, and endured the briefest of scares in the home leg as Odd took the lead through Ole Halvorsen after 19 minutes.
Thomas Tuchel's charges responded in style though as they hit four before half-time, the first of which came through a powerful effort from Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Marco Reus quickly made it 2-1, and Mkhitaryan was involved again as he set up Reus' second with a lovely volleyed pass.
FourFourTwo's Lucas Swain was delighted by the Armenian's return to form, which Opta Franz highlighted:
Shinji Kagawa made it 4-1 five minutes before the break, and six minutes after half-time Ilkay Gundogan scored BVB's fifth.
Mkhitaryan assisted Reus again for his hat-trick. Swain noted the German side's incredible scoring form:
Oliver Berg pulled another back for the visitors, before Kagawa completed the rout and grabbed his brace in the final minute.
The free-scoring Dortmund already look to have put last year's disappointment behind them both in domestically and in Europe.
Regardless of who they're drawn against on Friday, expect them to power through the group stage.
Indeed, BVB can rightly be considered one of the favourites for the entire tournament, so a lengthy run into the knockout stages seems highly likely.
