Europa League Results 2015: Latest Table, Scores After Thursday's Group Matches
The British clubs had another mixed bag during Thursday's UEFA Europa League action, as Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Celtic all played out draws that won't do them much good in the standings.
Spurs should be marginally happy with a 1-1 at Monaco, their toughest competitors on paper in Group J, but Liverpool should have beaten Swiss side FC Sion at home. Instead, Adam Lallana's opener was cancelled out by Ebenezer Assifuah, giving the visitors an altogether comfortable 1-1 draw.
Celtic wasted a 2-0 lead against Fenerbahce, who came back to earn a point at Celtic Park. Here's a look at Thursday's results:
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| Celtic | 2-2 | Fenerbahce |
| Molde | 1-1 | Ajax |
| Liverpool | 1-1 | Sion |
| Rubin Kazan | 0-0 | Bordeaux |
| Krasnodar | 2-1 | Qabala |
| PAOK | 1-1 | Borussia Dortmund |
| Club Brugge | 1-3 | Midtjylland |
| Legia Warsaw | 0-2 | Napoli |
| Dinamo Minsk | 0-1 | Rapid Wien |
| Villarreal | 1-0 | Viktoria Plzen |
| Braga | 1-0 | Groningen |
| Marseille | 0-1 | Liberec |
| Lazio | 3-2 | Saint-Etienne |
| Rosenborg | 0-1 | Dnipro |
| Besiktas | 1-1 | Sporting |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2-0 | Skenderbeu |
| Basel | 2-0 | Lech Poznan |
| Belenenses | 0-4 | Fiorentina |
| Monaco | 1-1 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Qarabag | 1-0 | Anderlecht |
| Schalke 04 | 4-0 | Asteras Tripolis |
| Sparta Prague | 2-0 | APOEL Nicosia |
| AZ Alkmaar | 2-1 | Athletic Bilbao |
| Augsburg | 1-3 | Partizan Beograd |
The current Europa league standings:
| Molde | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 |
| Celtic | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 |
| Ajax | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Fenerbahce | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 1 |
| Sion | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| Liverpool | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Bordeaux | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Rubin Kazan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| Borussia Dortmund | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 4 |
| FC Krasnodar | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| PAOK Thessaloniki FC | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| FK Qabala | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| Napoli | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 6 |
| FC Midtjylland | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 |
| Legia Warszawa | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
| Club Brugge | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | -7 | 0 |
| Rapid Wien | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 6 |
| Villarreal | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Viktoria Plzen | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 |
| Dinamo Minsk | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
| Braga | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 6 |
| Liberec | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Marseille | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 3 |
| Groningen | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 0 |
| Lazio | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 4 |
| Dnipro | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| Rosenborg | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 1 |
| Saint-Etienne | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 1 |
| Lok. Moscow | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | +4 | 6 |
| Besiktas | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 4 |
| Sporting CP | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 1 |
| Skenderbeu | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 0 |
| Basel | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 6 |
| Fiorentina | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 3 |
| Lech Poznan | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 1 |
| Belenenses | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | -4 | 1 |
| Tottenham | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | +2 | 4 |
| Qarabag FK | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
| Monaco | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Anderlecht | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| Schalke 04 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | +7 | 6 |
| Sparta Prague | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 | 4 |
| Asteras Tripolis | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | -4 | 1 |
| APOEL Nicosia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 |
| Partizan Belgrade | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 6 |
| AZ Alkmaar | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 |
| Athletic Club | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 3 |
| Augsburg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 0 |
Recap
Erik Lamela gave Spurs a deserved lead during the first half of their trip to Monaco, but Stephan El Shaarawy's late equaliser means Tottenham's lead at the top of Group J is just a single point, with Qarabag taking the second spot after a 1-0 win over Anderlecht.
The visitors looked impressive at the Stade Louis II, showing a solid organisation against a strong opponent, and while Monaco had the better chances, Spurs never looked particularly troubled.
A quick counter-attack gave the Premier League side the lead, as goalkeeper Danijel Subasic could only parry a shot from Dele Alli as far as Lamela, who tapped home from close range. At half-time, the Press Association's Simon Peach liked what he saw from Spurs:
Danny Rose suffered a nasty-looking injury to his hand early in the second half, but that was just about all the damage Monaco could do. Eric Dier came close to doubling Spurs' lead with a powerful header, drawing a fine save from Subasic, and the visitors appeared to be on their way to a routine win.
But with 10 minutes left to play, El Shaarawy found himself on the end of a fine cross from Nabil Dirar, and the Italian didn't hesitate, powering a fine header past Hugo Lloris. Ladbrokes credited El Shaarawy's iconic hairstyle for the goal:
Dirar nearly gave Monaco the lead moments after, but this time, Lloris was on point.
Without seeing most of the match, Yahoo Sport UK's Andrew Gaffney thought a draw at Monaco would have been a good result regardless of how the game played out:
It's hard to disagree with that notion, even if the visitors will have been disappointed having to settle for a draw after their strong showing on Thursday.
That's pretty much what star defender Jan Vertonghen told the club's official Twitter account:
Liverpool served up a dull affair at Anfield, playing out a 1-1 draw with Sion. Lallana had given the Reds the perfect start early after some lovely work from Divock Origi, but a defensive error allowed Assifuah to equalise early in the first half.
Fans hoping for a big answer from the Reds were left wanting, as even the introduction of Philippe Coutinho couldn't lead to a spark. Sion were barely ever tested defensively, easily holding on to earn a point.
Meanwhile, Celtic wasted a two-goal lead against Fenerbahce, allowing Molde to take the lead in Group A thanks to a 1-1 draw against Ajax.
Franco Di Santo scored a first-half hat-trick in Schalke 04's 4-0 win over Asteras Tripolis, giving the Germans the perfect start to their Group K match. Schalke have scored seven in their first two matches and have yet to concede, and football writer Cristian Nyari likes the look of the team this season:
The Italians also put together a fine showing, with Fiorentina cruising past Belenenses, winning 4-0, and Lazio coming back from an early deficit to beat Saint-Etienne 3-2. The Ligue 1 side finished the match with nine players, as Robert Beric saw a straight red card in the first half and Moustapha Bayal Sall joined him in the dressing room after 77 minutes.
In the late matches, Napoli added some more points to Serie A's coefficient, beating Legia Warsaw 2-0.
Athletic Bilbao suffered a shock upset at the hands of AZ Alkmaar, losing 2-1, while Swiss giants FC Basel took the top spot in Group I with a 2-0 win over Lech Poznan.
