That’s your lot, then. Thanks for reading this Europa League Clockwatch. Make sure to come back for our coverage of the draw for the Round of 32 on Monday. Nighty night!
Champions League
The last-16 draw will take place in Nyon at 11am (GMT) on Monday 14 December, with the eight ties between group winners and runners-up taking place on 15-16 February and 16-17 March.
Group winners: Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Dortmund, Juventus, PSG.
Runners-up: Atlético Madrid, Monchengladbach, Porto, Atalanta, Sevilla, Lazio, Barcelona, RB Leipzig.
Europa League
The last-32 draw will take place in Nyon at 12pm (GMT) on 14 December. The 12 group winners will be seeded along with four third-placed teams from the Champions League groups.
Group winners: Roma, Arsenal, Leverkusen, Rangers, PSV, Napoli, Leicester, Milan, Villarreal, Tottenham, Dinamo Zagreb, Hoffenheim.
Runners-up: Young Boys, Molde, Slavia Prague, Benfica, Granada, Real Sociedad, Braga, Lille, Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Royal Antwerp, Wolfsberger, Red Star Belgrade.
Third-placed CL teams: Seeded: Manchester United, Club Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, Ajax. Unseeded: Krasnodar, Red Bull Salzburg, Dynamo Kyiv, Olympiakos.
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Celtic put in their best performance of the season at Parkhead. Too late for Europe, but their confidence-boosting win over Lille might stand them in good stead domestically. Here’s Ewan Murray.
Spurs ensured the glory of top spot in their group by beating Antwerp. Tumaini Carayol was our man at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and here’s his verdict.
Some blessed relief for under-fire Mikel Arteta as Arsenal saw off Dundalk.
Here come the match reports on a successful night for British teams in the Europa League. First up Rangers, who were very impressive again as they beat Lech Poznan 2-0.
The seeded teams ahead of the Round of 32 draw on Monday: Roma, Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Rangers, PSV, Napoli, Leicester, Milan, Villarreal, Spurs, Dinamo Zagreb, Hoffenheim, Manchester United, Brugge, Shakhtar Donetsk, Ajax.
They’ll all draw one of this unseeded lot: Young Boys, Molde, Slavia Prague, Benfica, Granada, Real Sociedad, Braga, Lille, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Antwerp, Wolfsberger, Red Star Belgrade, Krasnodar, Red Bull Salzburg, Dynamo Kyiv, Olympiacos.
FULL TIME: Leicester 2-0 AEK
This was over a long time ago. Leicester ease past AEK to ensure they top the group and avoid the big boys in next week’s draw.
FULL TIME: Spurs 2-0 Antwerp
They had to work for it, but Spurs secure the win they needed to top their group and join the seeds in Monday’s draw.
FULL TIME: Celtic 3-2 Lille
Too little, too late for Celtic in Europe, but they take their leave of the continental stage with a valedictory win. That’ll release some of the pressure on Neil Lennon and give the Bhoys a bhoost ahead of some crucial domestic fixtures.
Leicester 2-0 AEK. Leicester spurn another chance to gild the lily. Justin romps down the right and crosses for Barnes, 12 yards out. Barnes creams his volley over the bar. But again, no matter: Leicester are a couple of added minutes away from securing top spot.
Spurs 2-0 Antwerp. Kane wants a goal. To this end, he twists and turns down the inside-left channel, carving out a chance on the corner of the six-yard box. But he slips at the vital moment. Falling, he still manages to improvise a diagonal prod, but the ball squirts wide right of goal. No matter, really, because Spurs are home and hosed.
Leicester 2-0 AEK. The Foxes break, three on one. Perez zips down the right and slips the ball inside for Praet, who is teed up on the penalty spot. All he has to do is sweep home ... but a miraculous last-ditch saving tackle by Galanopoulous saves the day for AEK! That really should have been the cherry on the cake, but what an interception!
Leicester 2-0 AEK. Leicester have been on easy street since that early double, but they were nearly facing a nervous ending here. Oliveira races into the box down the left and makes a mug of Morgan, but having turned his man, lashes wildly over from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box. He should at the very least have worked Ward in the Leicester goal.
Celtic 3-2 Lille. Celtic’s aforementioned defensive woes surface again, their back line split in two with great ease, Lihadji released into the box down the middle. He has to score, but takes a fresh-air swipe at the rolling ball, allowing Hazard in the Celtic goal to clear. What a let-off.
Celtic 3-2 Lille. “Celtic have looked half decent tonight, with Turnbull, Soro and Henderson in particular staking a claim,” writes Simon McMahon. “Despite only managing a single point in the group before tonight, Celtic have actually led in four of the matches. Take away the 75 goals they’ve conceded and they’re in a pretty strong position.”
Spurs 2-0 Antwerp. So Mourinho has used up all of his subs. Dele Alli, having realised he’s not going to get a run-out, follows Winks down the tunnel. A few man-management tasks await Jose, by the looks of things.
GOAL! Celtic 3-2 Lille (Turnbull 75)
Celtic may get that feelgood win after all! Ajer twists and turns down the right, reaching the byline and pulling back for Turnbull, who rifles low and hard into the net from 12 yards! A lovely run by Ajer and a fine crisp finish too.
GOAL! Spurs 2-0 Antwerp (Lo Celso 71)
Spurs look to have secured top spot in Group J! Sissoko wins a turnover in the centre circle. He slips forward for Kane, who shuttles the ball on to Lo Celso, releasing him down the inside-right. Lo Celso, who has been Tottenham’s star turn tonight, draws the keeper and eases a chip over him and into the net.
Updated
GOAL! Celtic 2-2 Lille (Weah 71)
A free kick for Lille out on the right. The ever-impressive Yazici curls it in. Celtic only half clear. The ball drops to Weah, just inside the box, a little left of centre. He pearls a volley into the bottom left, and Celtic’s hopes of a little confidence booster as they leave the European stage take a huge knock.
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Leicester 2-0 AEK. So having said that, Barnes springs into life and embarks on a power skitter down the left, cutting infield and lashing a low diagonal shot inches wide of the bottom right. Applause from Rodgers. That would have been a lovely goal.
Leicester 2-0 AEK. Nothing much going on at the King Power, and Brendan Rodgers will be more than happy about it. The Foxes are comfortably holding on to top spot in Group G.
Spurs 1-0 Antwerp. Harry Winks was also substituted as Mourinho made a triple change. Tanguy Ndombele took his place. Winks wasn’t happy at all, and went straight down the tunnel with a face on.
Spurs 1-0 Antwerp. Bale and Vinicius, their work done, are replaced by Kane and Son. Spurs have a couple of big away days coming up in the next seven days - at Palace and then Liverpool - but first things first. Spurs hadn’t been playing well before the goal, and Mourinho had clearly decided enough was enough. A sure sign that he’s taking the Europa League very seriously, and wants seeding in Monday’s draw at all costs.
GOAL! Spurs 1-0 Antwerp (Vinicius 56)
Spurs get some reward from the situation, though! Bale takes the free kick, 30 yards out, and whips a sensational effort over the wall and towards the top right. Beiranvand does magnificently to divert the fierce goalbound shot onto the post, but the ball bounces back across the face of goal, and it’s a simple tap-in for Vinicius! Spurs will now top the group if things stay the same.
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Spurs 0-0 Antwerp. Visiting defender Seck is already on a yellow, and shoves an in-flight Moura in the back. Spurs want a second yellow. The referee isn’t interested, but does show Jose Mourinho one, for complaining a little too loudly about it.
Spurs 0-0 Antwerp. Other than that, very little has occurred in N17 since the restart. The Belgians will be more than happy with the way this is going right now.
Spurs 0-0 Antwerp. Visiting keeper Beiranvand takes it to the edge with the ball at his feet, dropping a shoulder and dribbling around the charging Vinicius before clearing. Nerves of steel.
Celtic 2-1 Lille. The visitors start the second half on the front foot. Yazici goes on a hell of a dribble down the inside-right channel, eating up much of the pitch and making it into the box. He can’t quite fashion enough space to get a proper shot away, which is kind of sad given the brilliance of the run. Celtic fans are unlikely to care too much about aesthetic beauty in this particular instance.
The games restart in Glasgow, Leicester and London. Big second halves coming up for Leicester and Spurs, who will be hoping to top their respective groups and earn seeding in the draw for the Round of 256 or whatever the field’s been pared down to. That’s Leicester’s to lose; Spurs still have some work to do. Celtic meanwhile are simply playing for pride, and a wee boost ahead of a crucial domestic period that could define their season.
Half-time entertainment. Of sorts.
The half-times
- Celtic 2-1 Lille
- Leicester 2-0 AEK
- Spurs 0-0 Antwerp
As things stand, Leicester will go through as group winners, but Spurs won’t be seeded in next Monday’s draw. Antwerp are in the box seat in Group J.
Spurs 0-0 Antwerp. Beiranvand makes yet another big save, denying Vinicius, who was free down the inside-left channel and should really have scored. The keeper smothers his chip, and takes a whack in the fruit bowl for his trouble. He’ll be fine to continue once the sting subsides and the inventory has been completed to his satisfaction.
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Leicester 2-0 AEK. ... while things are gently ticking over in the midlands.
Celtic 2-1 Lille. Meanwhile it’s all quiet in Glasgow ...
Spurs 0-0 Antwerp. Spurs are finally baring their teeth. Moura drives hard down the inside-right channel and flicks forward for Bale, who dribbles past two defenders, draws the keeper, but can’t find a white shirt in the middle with his flick from the byline.
Spurs 0-0 Antwerp. A glorious run in from the left by Lo Celso, featuring a dazzling array of shimmies, shakes, shoulder drops, dummies and feints. He ends with a curler towards the top right. Beiranvand again saves the day, this time with a full-stretch fingertip save. That would have been some goal.
Updated
Spurs 0-0 Antwerp. I knew that would do it. Spurs nearly take the lead, Lo Celso scampering into acres down the left and looking for Vinicius, all alone in the middle. The pass isn’t perfect, and it allows the keeper Beiranvand to hare out and slide clear. The ball breaks to Doherty, but he’s swarmed by red shirts before he can even think about dispatching the ball into the unguarded net from 40 yards.
Updated
Spurs 0-0 Antwerp. I haven’t described much action from this match, have I? Well, there’s a reason for that.
Celtic 2-1 Lille. That’s some way for McGregor to atone for the error that led to Lille’s equaliser. Meanwhile poor Frimpong can’t continue, and he’s replaced by Henderson.
Updated
GOAL! Celtic 2-1 Lille (McGregor 28 pen)
It’s all happening at Parkhead! Frimpong dribbles with purpose into the box from the right. He’s unceremoniously clipped. A sore one, and he has to pop to the bench to get some treatment. Meanwhile McGregor slots the penalty that’s awarded into the bottom right!
GOAL! Celtic 1-1 Lille (Ikone 24)
Well that didn’t last long. An awful mishit backpass by McGregor is intercepted by Yazici, who drives down the left and rolls across for Jonathan Ikone, who can’t miss from six yards.
Updated
GOAL! Celtic 1-0 Lille (Jullien 22)
Neil Lennon needs some good news as well, and here it comes! A corner out on the left. It’s sent to the near post, and met by Christopher Jullien, who runs an elaborate route to escape his marker and glances home cleverly with a cute back-header.
Spurs 0-0 Antwerp. Ah here’s some good news. Tanganga’s injury wasn’t as serious as it initially looked, and the promising young defender is good to continue.
Celtic 0-0 Lille. The French side nearly take the lead, Yazici taking a free kick just to the left of the D and whistling it towards the top-left corner. Not sure Conor Hazard in the Celtic goal had that covered, but thankfully for Neil Lennon’s side, the ball clears the crossbar. Just.
Spurs 0-0 Antwerp. Worrying scenes as poor Japhet Tanganga goes down clutching his shoulder. He stays down. The physios are on, and taking a long, hard look.
GOAL! Leicester City 2-0 AEK (Barnes 14)
This could be a long night for AEK. Barnes cuts in from the left and tries a curler towards the top right. The ball takes a twang off the hapless Svamas and diverts towards the top left, leaving the keeper no chance.
GOAL! Leicester City 1-0 AEK (Under 12)
On his own penalty spot, Svamas of AEK takes a wild hack at a dropping ball, connecting only with fresh air. Under’s eyes light up, and he lashes a first-time shot into the top right. Unstoppable and opportunistic.
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Celtic 0-0 Lille. At Parkhead, the hosts are on their worst run of form since the days before Jock Stein. They’re already out, of course, but could do with a result, mainly to regain some of that misplaced confidence, although a response to Rangers looking highly competent earlier on against Lech Poznan would help. No sign of a valedictory performance yet, with Lille more than holding their own.
Leicester 0-0 AEK. Tielemans drags a shot wide left from distance. Not a great deal going on at the King Power, but it’s early days.
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Spurs 0-0 Antwerp. A corner for the hosts out on the left. Bale flashes a header wide right from eight yards. He should have done better, and holds his head in his hands accordingly.
An appropriately slow start to an evening of limited jeopardy. Buta of Antwerp is sent scampering free down the left at New White Hart Lane, but the flag goes up for offside.
After a moment of silence in honour of the legendary Paolo Rossi, the games in Glasgow, London and Leicester get underway.
Yep, the 8pm kick-offs are indeed ahoy. Yo ho ho. As Barry disappears into the London night, cackling, let’s remind ourselves of the state of play in the groups featuring Leicester City, Celtic and Tottenham Hotspur...
Group G: Leicester are through and will top the group with a win, or if they match what Braga do. Braga are through and will top the group if they win and Leicester do not, or if they draw and Leicester lose. Zorya Luhansk and AEK Athens are eliminated.
Group H: Lille are through and will top the group with a win, or if Milan do not win. AC Milan are through and will top the group with a win if Lille do not win. Sparta Praha and Celtic are eliminated.
Group J: Antwerp are through and will top the group if they win or draw and Tottenham are through and will top the group if they win. LASK and Ludogorets are eliminated.
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Our 8pm kick-offs are very much ahoy! Scott Murray will be keeping tabs on them for you. Enjoy.
Full-time: Dundalk 2-4 Arsenal
Arsenal made it six wins from six in the group stages on a night in Dublin that several academy graduates got a chance to impress against game Dundalk.
Full time: Lech Poznan 0-2 Rangers
Cedric Itton and Ianis Hagi got the goals that secured victory for Rangers and guarantees they’ll go through to the knockout stages as group winners.
Dundalk 2-4 Arsenal: From a free-kick arced into the Dundalk penalty area, Calum Chambers manages to scramble the ball into the net, but is flagged for offside. It would have been a nice way to mark his return from injury after the best part of a year, but he’ll be pleased just to have got 90 minutes of first team action under his belt without major incident.
GOAL! Dundalk 2-4 Arsenal (Hoare 85)
Sean Hoare pulls a goal back for Dundalk, rising to flick a whipped free-kick from the right in at the near post with his head. Or possibly his shoulder.
Dundalk 1-4 Arsenal: Aged 18, Miguel Azeez, an Arsenal player since the age of five, comes on for his senior debut. He replaces Joe Willock.
GOAL! Dundalk 1-4 Arsenal (Balogun 80)
Nicolas Pepe plays Balogun in on goal with a perfectly weighted pass into his path. The substitute sends a curling shot around Rogers with a fine finish.
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Lech Poznan 0-2 Rangers: Full of confidence after his Puskas Goal of the Year contender, Hagi cuts inside from the left, gets the ball on to his right foot and unleashes a rasping shot that brings a good save out of Filip Bednarek.
Updated
GOAL! Lech Poznan 0-2 Rangers (Hagi 72)
Rangers win a free-kick about 40 yards from the Lech Poznan goal. The ball’s floated into the penalty area, where Connor Goldson rise to send a header arcing over Poznan goalkeeper Bednarek. It hits the underside of the cross-bar, bounces downwards on to the line and back up again. Ianis Hagi is on hand to head it home from all of one centimetre out. Goldson is taking the credit, but it’s Hagi’s goal.
GOAL! Dundalk 1-3 Arsenal (Willock 67)
In the Dundalk penalty area just outside the six-yard box, Balogan chests down the ball with his back to goal and plays it short to Willock. He takes it away from a defender with a neat first touch before smashing it past Gary Rogers.
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Dundalk 1-2 Arsenal: Arsenal win a free-kick just outside the “Dundalk penalty area, well left. Cedric stings the palms of Dundalk goalkeeper Gary Rogers, who is forced to save the follow-up with substitute Folarin Balogan – on for Eddie Nketiah – lurking. Nketiah was not best pleased at being taken off by his manager Mikel Arteta.
Lech Poznan 0-1 Rangers: Standard Liege have retaken the lead against Benfica. As things stand, Rangers will be sauntering into the knockout stages as group winners.
Lech Poznan 0-1 Rangers: Rangers central defender Leon Balogan gets booked for a shove in the back on Mikael Ishak.
Lech Poznan 0-1 Rangers: Rangers have a free-kick just outside their own penalty area to defend. Tymoteusz Puchacz hits the target but it’s a relatively straightforward save for Jon McLaughlin.
Dundalk 1-2 Arsenal: David McMillan pulled his hamstring in that counter-attack and is forced off to be replaced by Daniel Kelly. Sean Gannon also makes way for John Mountney.
Dundalk 1-2 Arsenal: Michael Duffy attacks on the counter for Dundalk, gadding down the inside left at top speed. He cuts inside and squares the ball for David McMillan who is up in support, but his pass goes just behind the striker.
Dundalk 1-2 Arsenal: Dundalk play the ball out of defence but lose it on the edge of the final third. Arsenal get it upfield and Emile Smith Rowe tries to get in behind Sean Gannon, only to be relieved of possession.
The 8pm k/o team-sheets
Celtic: Hazard, Duffy, Jullien, Ajer, Frimpong, McGregor, Soro, Turnbull, Laxalt, Elyounoussi, Klimala.
Subs: Barkas, Taylor, Brown, Griffiths, Ajeti, Rogic, Edouard, Bain, Henderson, Harper, Welsh.
Lille: Maignan, Niasse, Fonte, Djalo, Bradaric, Ikone, Soumare, Xeka, Weah, David, Yazici.
Subs: Karnezis, Botman, Bamba, Yilmaz, Sanches, Lihadji, Andre, Mandava, Chevalier, Innocenti.
Leicester City: Ward, Justin, Fofana, Evans, Thomas, Praet, Ndidi, Tielemans, Under, Barnes, Iheanacho.
Subs: Schmeichel, Morgan, Vardy, Albrighton, Perez, Choudhury, Mendy, Fuchs, Jakupovic.
AEK Athens: Tsintotas, Hnid, Svarnas, Nedelcearu, Vasilantonopoulos, Mandalos, Andre Simoes, Krsticic, Mitaj, Garcia, Ansarifard.
Subs: Albanis, Laci, Tankovic, Oliveira, Galanopoulos, Shakhov, Athanasiadis, Sabanadzovic, Ioannis Sardelis, Christopoulos, Macheras, Theocharis.
Tottenham Hotspur: Hart, Tanganga, Sanchez, Davies, Doherty, Winks, Lo Celso, Reguilon, Bale, Vinicius, Lucas Moura.
Subs: Alderweireld, Son, Kane, Dier, Sissoko, Alli, Bergwijn, Ndombele, Whiteman, Clarke, White, Scarlett.
Antwerp: Beiranvand, Buta, Seck, Gelin, Batubinsika, Lukaku, Benson, Haroun, Hongla, Refaelov, Benavente.
Subs: Chevaughn, De Laet, Birger Verstraete, Juklerod, Boya, Miyoshi, Opoku Ampomah, Butez, Mbokani.
Play resumes: They’ve kicked off for the second half in Dublin and seconds later, Rangers and Lech Poznan follow suit in Poland.
A life in pictures: Paolo Rossi https://t.co/fh6XpI3Crj
— The Guardian (@guardian) December 10, 2020
Europa League half-times
- Group A: CSKA Sofia 2-1 Roma, Young Boys 0-0 CFR Cluj
- Group B: Dundalk 1-2 Arsenal, Rapid Vienna 1-1 Molde
- Group C: B Leverkusen 2-0 Slavia Prague, Hapoel Beer Sheeva 0-0 Nice
- Group D: Lech Poznan 0-1 Rangers, Standard Liege 1-1 Benfica
- Group E: PAOK 0-0 Granada, PSV Eindhoven 1-0 Omonia Nicosia
- Group F: Rijeka 0-0 AZ ALkmaar, Napoli 1-0 Real Sociedad
Lech Poznan 0-1 Rangers: Cedric Itten’s third goal of the season for Rangers separates the sides in Poland at the break.
Dundalk 1-2 Arsenal: Callum Chambers gets in a crucial block to deflect a Darragh Leahy shot over the bar when a goal looked certain. Nothing comes from the corner and it’s half-time in Dublin.
Lech Poznan 0-1 Rangers: A good chance goes begging for Rangers, when Ianis Hagi gets the ball stuck under his feet after being put in behind the Pozan defence. He manages to get a shot away eventually, but doesn’t trouble Poznan goalkeeper Filip Bednarek.
Dundalk 1-2 Arsenal: Fairly comfortable evenings so far for both Arsenal and Rangers, with the former winning a corner in Dublin. Nicolas Pepe sends the ball deep and Mustafi heads it back across the penalty area. Dundalk clear.
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GOAL! Lech Poznan 0-1 Rangers (Itten 31)
Swiss striker Cedric Itten roofs the ball at the near post, having danced past a defender who was expecting him to cut inside. Rangers are ahead!
Dundalk 1-2 Arsenal: Arsenal’s Joe Willock gets himself a booking for catching Dundalk’s |David McMillan with a trailing hand as he dribbled past him. It was a total accident and seemed a little over-zealous on the part of the referee.
Top Irish football newshound Daniel McDonnell tweets:
Dundalk v Arsenal.
— Daniel McDonnell (@McDonnellDan) December 10, 2020
The last time a Premier League side played a competitive game in Dublin, some bloke called Harry Kane came off the bench to score his first goal for Spurs. No pressure on the young Arsenal subs. pic.twitter.com/aVGzOBzINK
Elsewhere in Group B: Rapid Vienna trail Norwegian side Molde, in a game they need to win if they are to entertain any hopes of going through to the knockout stages.
GOAL! Dundalk 1-2 Arsenal (Flores 22)
C’mon the Town! Jordan Flores cuts inside from the right, plays a give-and-go with Michael Duffy on thre edge of the penalty area, picks up the inch-perfect return pass and and spanks a rising diagonal shot past Runar Runarsson in the Arsenal goal.
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Dundalk 0-2 Arsenal: Nicolas Pepe looks accusingly at the pitch after sending a shot high over the ball. Given the state of the playting surface, we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say the ball took a bobble just before he hit it.
GOAL! Dundalk 0-2 Arsenal (Elneny 18)
Have that! Mohamed Elneny smashes one into the top right-hand corner from about 35 yards out, his shot arrowing past the outstretched fingers of Gary Rogers and scorshing into the stanchion. That’s Elneny’s first goal in three years and only his third for Arsenal, but it was an absolute screamer.
Lech Poznan 0-0 Rangers: Lech Poznan miss a sitter, Lubomir Satka rising unmarked to meet a perfect cross from the right, only to head the ball over the cross-bar.
Lech Poznan 0-0 Rangers: It remains scoreless in Poland, but in Group D’s other game, Standard Liege have gone ahead against Benfica. That’s good news for Rangers, who only have to match the Portuguese side’s result to top the group.
GOAL! Dundalk 0-1 Arsenal (Nketiah 11)
Nketiah is put in behind the Dundalk defence and lifts the ball over the onrushing goalkeeper Rogers with a neat little flick. That makes him Arsenal’s top goalscorer this season, despite his limited opportunities.
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Dundalk 0-0 Arsenal: Eddie Nketiah wins a free-kick for Arsenal just to the left of the Dundalk penalty area. Andrew Boyle was the offender, his tug on the Aersenal man’s shirt earning him a yellow card. Cedric whips the ball towards the near post, where Darragh Leahy puts it out for a throw-in down by the corner.
Elsewhere in the Europa League: In Group A, CSKA Sofia have taken an early lead against Italian side Roma, with Thiago Rodrigues getting on the scoresheet.
Lech Poznan 0-0 Rangers: Pedro Tiba brings a smart save out of Jon McLaughlin in the Rangers goal with a shot from distance.
Dundalk 0-0 Arsenal: Ashley Maitland Niles tries to knock the ball across the face of goal for Eddie Nketiah, having got on the end of a cross from the right. Dundalk goalkeeper Gary Rogers does enough to ensure the ball doesn’t bounce kindly for the striker and the Irish side clear their lines.
Calum Chambers: The right back makes his first start for Arsenal in 348 days, having spent lockdown doing physiotherapy remotely as he recovered from a cruciate injury.
Dundalk kick off in Dublin. The pitch in the Aviva is like a cabbage field, having hosted a rugby match recently. Play is also underway in Poznan, where the pitch looks in far better nick, western Poland not being a rugby stronghold.
A minute’s silence: All Europa League games tonight will be preceded by a minute’s silence for the late, great Paolo Rossi, who has died. Rest in peace, Paolo.
Not long now: Kick-off in Dublin and Poznan is just a few moments away and the teams are out on their respective pitches.
Dundalk: This is the Irish team’s final game of the season and 14 of their players will be out of contract at the final whistle and have no idea whether or not they’ll be offered new ones for next season. Such is the parlous state of the finances of clubs in the League of Ireland.
In another far from ideal situation, their manager Flippo Giovagnoli has not been allowed to sit in the dug-out during their Europa League matches, because he doesn’t have a Uefa Pro licence. It is a state of affairs, he says, which has made his job “impossible”.
Lech Poznan v Rangers line-ups ...
Lech Poznan: Bednarek, Butko, Satka, Crnomarkovic, Puchacz, Skoras, Pedro Tiba, Muhar, Kaminski, Marchwinski, Ishsk
Subs: Bakowski, Malenica, Kravets, Sykora, Ramirez, Dejewski, Moder, Awwad, Niewadomski, Czerwiski, Sobol, Borowski
Rangers: McLaughlin, Patterson, Balogun, Goldson, Barisic, Zungu, Kamara, Aribo, Arfield, Hagi, Itten
Subs: McGregor, Kinnear, Tavernier, Bassey, Kent, Morelos, Barker, Stewart, Barjonas, Dickson
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard rests James Tavernier, with Nathan Patterson stepping up in his place for only the second start of his senior career. Iannis Hagi is welcomed back into the Rangers side, while Bongani Zungu makes his first Europa League start. Kemar Roofe is a conspicuous absentee from the matchday squad.
Dundalk v Arsenal line-ups ...
Dundalk: Rogers, Hoare, Boyle, Cleary, Gannon, Shields, Flores, Leahy, McEleney, Duffy, McMillan.
Subs: Corcoran, Wynne, Gartland, Mountney, Sloggett, McCarey, Colovic, Dummigan, Kelly.
Arsenal: Runarsson, Chambers, Pablo Mari, Mustafi, Soares, Smith-Rowe, Maitland-Niles, Elneny, Willock, Nketiah, Pepe.
Subs: Cottrell, Azeez, Saka, Ceballos, Holding, Macey, Balogun, Hein.
Mikel Arteta has made a clean sweep of 11 changes for tonight’s game, electing to give his fringe players a run out with qualification already secured. Thomas Partey, who limped off with a thigh injury during last weekend’s defeat at the hands of Tottenham will miss “the next few matches” according to his manager.
Dundalk, who beat Shamrock Rovers to win the Irish cup final last Sunday, have a fully fit but possibly hungover squad to choose from.
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Teams from the UK and Ireland
Group B: Arsenal are through as group winners. Molde will go through if they avoid defeat, or if they score in a one-goal loss. Rapid will go through if they win either 1-0 or by a margin of two goals of more. Dundalk are eliminated.
Group D: Rangers are through and will top the group with a win, or if they at least match what Benfica do.Benfica are through and will top the group if they win and Rangers do not, or if they draw and Rangers lose. Lech Poznan and Stnadard Liege are eliminated.
Group G: Leicester are through and will top the group with a win, or if they match what Braga do. Braga are through and will top the group if they win and Leicester do not, or if they draw and Leicester lose. Zorya Luhansk and AEK Athens are eliminated.
Group H: Lille are through and will top the group with a win, or if Milan do not win. AC Milan are through and will top the group with a win if Lille do not win. Sparta Praha and Celtic are eliminated.
Group J: Antwerp are through and will top the group if they win or draw and Tottenham are through and will top the group if they win. LASK and Ludogorets are eliminated.
Can still reach the round of 32
- Group A: CFR Cluj, Young Boys
- Group B: Molde, Rapid Wien
- Group F: AZ Alkmaar, Napoli, Real Sociedad
- Group I: Maccabi Tel-Aviv, Sivasspor
- Group K: Feyenoord, Wolfsberg
Through to round of 32
- Group A: Roma*
- Group B: Arsenal*
- Group C: Slavia Prague, Leverkusen
- Group D: Rangers, Benfica
- Group E: Granada, PSV Eindhoven
- Group G: Leicester City, FC Braga
- Group H: Lille, AC Milan
- Group I: Villarreal*
- Group J: Antwerp, Tottenham
- Group K: Dinamo Zagreb*
- Group L: Hoffenheim*, Red Star
*Group winners
Joining them from the Champions League
- Red Bull Salzburg
- Shakhtar Donetsk
- Olympiacos
- Ajax
- Krasnodar
- Club Brugge
- Dynamo Kiev
- Manchester United
Europa League group stages
You join us for the final round of fixtures in the Europa League group games, with 18 teams (or 26 if you include the eight dropping down from the Champions League) already assured of places in the knockout stages.
Of the teams from the UK and Ireland who are involved, Leicester City, Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Rangers have already qualified for the last 32, while the jig is already up for Dundalk and Celtic, whose hopes of joining them went up in smoke two weeks ago.
All six teams are in action tonight, with games around the continent kicking off at 5.55pm or 8pm. We’ll keep you posted on all the goals as they go in, but stay tuned in the meantime for all the team news and build-up
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