Europa League Roundup: Dortmund Crush Odds, Southampton Crash out
Borussia Dortmund crushed Odds BK 7-2 on Thursday to clinch a spot in the 2015-16 UEFA Europa League group stage. Coupled with last week's 4-3 comeback win in Norway, the result completed an 11-5 aggregate victory for the Bundesliga side.
Marco Reus scored a hat-trick for Dortmund, who scored six unanswered goals after trailing 1-0 briefly in the first half. Shinji Kagawa netted twice, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Ilkay Gundogan added one goal each.
Ole Jorgen Halvorsen gave Odds a short-lived lead with a 19th-minute header, and Oliver Berger added a second-half consolation.
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It was a total team effort from Dortmund, with all the goalscorers combining well throughout the match. Even after taking a commanding lead, Thomas Tuchel's side continued to attack relentlessly, shredding their opponents with slick passing and incisive moment and bombarding the goal with 20 shots on target (per UEFA.com).
Tuchel and his men must be pleased with the performance, as well as their overall form so far this season. Dortmund have played seven competitive matches this campaign, winning all seven while outscoring their opponents 27-5.
During that time, BVB have qualified for the Europa League group stage and taken an early lead atop the Bundesliga, ahead of champions Bayern Munich on goal difference. Stiffer tests await, no doubt, but Dortmund appear revitalized under Tuchel, who has done well so far in the difficult task of replacing club legend Jurgen Klopp along the touchline.
In all, 44 teams took part in the second leg of the Europa League's playoff round Thursday night. Here is a look at the results from the 22 matches.
| Kairat | 2-1 | Bordeaux | 2-2 (Bordeaux win on away goals) |
| Jablonec | 0-0 | Ajax | 0-1 |
| Qarabag | 3-0 | Young Boys | 4-0 |
| Rubin | 1-0 | Rabotnicki | 2-1 |
| Videoton | 0-1 | Lech | 0-4 |
| HJK | 0-0 | Krasnodar | 1-5 |
| Thun | 3-3 | Sparta Prague | 4-6 |
| St.-Etienne | 1-0 | Milsami | 2-1 |
| Rosenborg | 0-1 | Steaua | 3-1 |
| Hajduk Split | 0-1 | Liberec | 0-2 |
| Fenerbahce | 3-0 | Atromitos | 4-0 |
| Panathinaikos | 2-2 | Qabala | 2-2 (Qabala win on away goals) |
| AZ | 2-0 | Astra | 4-3 |
| Brondby | 1-1 | PAOK | 1-6 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 7-2 | Odds BK | 11-5 |
| Salzburg | 2-0 | Dinamo Minsk | 2-2 (Dinamo win 3-2 on penalties) |
| Standard Liege | 3-1 | Molde | 3-3 (Molde win on away goals) |
| Vojvodina | 0-2 | Plzen | 0-5 |
| Athletic Bilbao | 1-0 | Zilina | 3-3 (Athletic win on away goals) |
| Midtjylland | 1-0 | Southampton | 2-1 |
| Legia | 3-2 | Zorya | 4-2 |
| Belenenses | 0-0 | Altach | 1-0 |
Saints bow out
Southampton crashed out of the competition following a 1-0 loss to Midtjylland in Denmark. Former Celtic striker Morten Rasmussen scored the game's only goal in the 28th minute to give his side a 2-1 aggregate victory.
After last week's 1-1 draw in the first leg, Southampton needed to score in order to stay alive. The Premier League side came close in the fourth minute, when Jose Fonte's header was cleared off the line. But the Saints threatened only rarely thereafter.
Southampton, who finished seventh in England's top flight last season, were making their first European appearance since 2004. Coach Ronald Koeman will now turn his attention back to the Premier League, where the Saints have earned just two points from their first three matches.
Cillessen saves Ajax
Ajax moved on to the group stage following a scoreless draw with Jablonec in the Czech Republic, a result that secured a tight 1-0 aggregate win.
The Dutch side looked to be in trouble when Jablonec won a second-half penalty, but goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen saved Jan Gregus' spot-kick in the 58th minute to protect the result.
Ajax then had to play the final 30 minutes with 10 men after Riechedly Bazoer drew a red card moments later.
Draw set for Friday
Forty-eight teams are set for Friday's Europa League draw, which will be held in Monaco.
In addition to the 22 winners from Thursday's playoff second legs, 10 teams have dropped into the competition after losing in the Champions League playoff round. Those teams are APOEL, AS Monaco, Celtic, Club Brugge, FC Basel, Lazio, Partizan, Rapid Wien, Skenderbeu and Sporting Lisbon.
Sixteen more teams had byes to the group stage. They were: Schalke, Napoli, Tottenham Hotspur, Villarreal, Marseille, Dnipro, Braga, Fiorentina, Anderlecht, Liverpool, Besiktas, Lokomotiv Moscow, Augsburg, Asteras Tripolis, Groningen and Sion.
The 48 group-stage participants will be drawn into 12 groups of four. The 12 group-winners and runners-up will advance to the round of 32, where eight more teams will drop into the competition by virtue of finishing third in their Champions League groups.
From there, the tournament will proceed via two-legged knockout ties.
