Europa League Results 2015: Group Tables After Thursday's Final Scores
Tottenham Hotspur booked passage to the round of 32 in the UEFA Europa League with a 1-0 win over Qarabag on Thursday, and Celtic's bid to advance ended with a 2-1 loss against Ajax.
FC Krasnodar shocked Borussia Dortmund, beating the Bundesliga giants 1-0 to go level on points with their opponents at the top of Group C. Pavel Mamaev converted an early penalty, and the hosts clung on to book their ticket to the next round. They join the likes of Dortmund, Liverpool and Napoli as teams that have already qualified.
Here's a look at the full schedule for this week:
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
| Rubin Kazan | 2-0 | Sion |
| Krasnodar | 1-0 | Borussia Dortmund |
| Dinamo Minsk | 1-0 | Victoria Plzen |
| Celtic | 1-2 | Ajax |
| Molde | 0-2 | Fenerbahce |
| Liverpool | 2-1 | Bordeaux |
| PAOK | 0-0 | Qabala |
| Club Brugge | 0-1 | Napoli |
| Legia Warsaw | 1-0 | FC Midtjylland |
| Villarreal | 1-0 | Rapid Wien |
| Braga | 2-1 | Liberec |
| Marseille | 2-1 | Groningen |
| Lazio | 3-1 | Dnipro |
| Rosenborg | 1-1 | Saint-Etienne |
| Besiktas | 2-0 | Skenderbeu |
| Lokomotiv Moscow | 2-4 | Sporting |
| Basel | 2-2 | Fiorentina |
| Belenenses | 0-0 | Lech Poznan |
| Monaco | 0-2 | Anderlecht |
| Qarabag | 0-1 | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Schalke 04 | 1-0 | APOEL |
| Sparta Prague | 1-0 | Asteras Tripolis |
| AZ Alkmaar | 1-2 | Partizan |
| Augsburg | 2-3 | Athletic Bilbao |
The current Europa League standings:
| 1 | Molde | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 10 |
| 2 | Fenerbahce | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 8 |
| 3 | Ajax | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 6 |
| 4 | Celtic | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 2 |
| 1 | Liverpool | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 9 |
| 2 | Sion | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
| 3 | Rubin Kazan | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 5 |
| 4 | Bordeaux | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 3 |
| 1 | FC Krasnodar | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 10 |
| 2 | Borussia Dortmund | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 10 |
| 3 | PAOK Thessaloniki FC | 5 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 4 |
| 4 | FK Qabala | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 9 | -7 | 2 |
| 1 | Napoli | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 1 | +16 | 15 |
| 2 | FC Midtjylland | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 11 | -6 | 6 |
| 3 | Club Brugge | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 10 | -7 | 4 |
| 4 | Legia Warszawa | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 4 |
| 1 | Villarreal | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 3 | +6 | 12 |
| 2 | Rapid Wien | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 12 |
| 3 | Viktoria Plzen | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 3 |
| 4 | Dinamo Minsk | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 9 | -7 | 3 |
| 1 | Braga | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 12 |
| 2 | Marseille | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 9 |
| 3 | Liberec | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| 4 | Groningen | 5 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 1 |
| 1 | Lazio | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 13 |
| 2 | Saint-Etienne | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 6 | +3 | 8 |
| 3 | Dnipro | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 8 | -5 | 4 |
| 4 | Rosenborg | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 9 | -5 | 2 |
| 1 | Besiktas | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 9 |
| 2 | Lok. Moscow | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 7 | +2 | 8 |
| 3 | Sporting CP | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 10 | +1 | 7 |
| 4 | Skenderbeu | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 3 |
| 1 | Basel | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 5 | +4 | 10 |
| 2 | Fiorentina | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 6 | +4 | 7 |
| 3 | Lech Poznan | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | -3 | 5 |
| 4 | Belenenses | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | -5 | 5 |
| 1 | Tottenham | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 10 |
| 2 | Anderlecht | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 7 |
| 3 | Monaco | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 6 |
| 4 | Qarabag FK | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 4 |
| 1 | Schalke 04 | 5 | W | 2 | 0 | 11 | 3 | +8 | 11 |
| 2 | Sparta Prague | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 4 | +3 | 9 |
| 3 | Asteras Tripolis | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 4 |
| 4 | APOEL Nicosia | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 9 | -7 | 3 |
| 1 | Athletic Club | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 6 | +8 | 12 |
| 2 | Partizan Belgrade | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 9 |
| 3 | Augsburg | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 6 |
| 4 | AZ Alkmaar | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 3 |
Here's a list of the teams who have already qualified for the next round:
| A | Molde |
| B | Liverpool |
| C | Borussia Dortmund |
| C | Krasnodar |
| D | Napoli |
| E | Rapid Wien |
| E | Villarreal |
| F | Braga |
| G | Lazio |
| G | Saint Etienne |
| I | Basel |
| J | Tottenham |
| K | Schalke 04 |
| K | Sparta Prague |
| L | Athletic Bilbao |
Recap
Celtic and Ajax came into their match knowing the loser of their meeting could no longer qualify for the next round, and following a 2-1 win, it's the Dutch side that still has a slim chance of advancing.
Callum McGregor gave the hosts a lead after just four minutes, capitalising on a big mistake from the Ajax defence and charging down the pitch before blasting home. It was exactly the start Celtic needed, but midway through the first half, Arkadiusz Milik pulled the Dutch side level after a wild scramble in front of goal.
The Polish striker found the net with an acrobatic overhead kick, but Celtic's defence should have dealt with the danger far better.
Sports writer Brian McNally was disappointed:
"Milik levels for Ajax as once again Celtic are caught napping at the back.This side just don't know how to hold a lead.1-1.
— Brian McNally (@McNallyMirror) November 26, 2015"
Both sides went looking for the advantage, and their efforts were doubled when word reached Glasgow that Fernandao had given Fenerbahce the lead against Malmo.
Ozan Tufan later made it 2-0 for the Turks, and if the score in Glasgow had stayed the same, Fenerbahce would have secured second place in the group.
Vaclav Cerny had other ideas, however, scoring a late goal for the visitors to keep their hopes of advancing alive. Ajax will meet Molde in their last group-stage match and must hope Celtic can find a way to beat Fenerbahce.
Mamaev's early penalty made the difference in Krasnodar's win over Dortmund, despite the German side dominating possession and missing a host of chances. The loss is Dortmund's first in this year's Europa League.
Mats Hummels has struggled early in the 2015-16 campaign, and his poor run of form continued on Thursday. Just two minutes into the match, the Germany international gave away a cheap penalty by pulling back Mauricio Pereyra.
DW Sports couldn't help but take a shot at the centre-back:
Mamaev converted the spot-kick to give the hosts the lead and put them level on points with Dortmund for top spot in Group C.
Adrian Ramos nearly equalised after a defensive howler, chipping the ball onto the crossbar. The Colombian looked very lively early and made a strong impression with his presence, but his finishing let him down in the first half.
Per DW Sports, the score didn't exactly reflect what took place on the pitch:
Marcel Schmelzer blasted a fantastic volley just wide of the post to start the second half as the visitors continued to press high and dictate the pace in the second half. Krasnodar were still dangerous on the counter, however, and Ari nearly doubled their lead with a low strike in the 57th minute.
Ramos tested Andriy Dykan again, this time with a strong header, but to the disbelief of DW Sports, Dortmund just couldn't find the opening:
The German side pushed hard for a late equaliser, but the best chance fell to the hosts, as Ari couldn't get the ball past Roman Weidenfeller.
Harry Kane was once again the saviour for Tottenham, who booked their spot in the next round with a 1-0 win against Qarabag.
Spurs dominated possession in the first half but couldn't muster many chances, as the hosts were camped outside their own box and did a great job limiting space.
Squawka Football shared this pass-map at half-time:
The Premier League side improved their attacking output in the second half, however, and Heung-Min Son came close to breaking the deadlock after 65 minutes, smashing a great shot off the crossbar.
Son impressed greatly on Thursday, and his excellent performance was finally rewarded with an assist in the 78th minute. Kane powered home a header to give Spurs a 1-0 lead, and with Anderlecht leading Monaco 2-0 at the time, the result meant Tottenham were through to the next round.
Bet365 was a little excited:
Maksim Medvedev thought he had equalised just minutes later, but fortunately for the visitors, the linesman had raised his flag, as several Qarabag players seemed to be offside during the build-up.
Per Spurs' official Twitter account, star defender Jan Vertonghen was glad the side got the job done:
Napoli are still perfect after five matches, beating Club Brugge 1-0, while Liverpool joined the list of qualified teams with a 2-1 win over Bordeaux. James Milner and Christian Benteke scored for the Reds, who climbed to the top spot in Group B thanks to Rubin Kazan's 2-0 win over Sion.
