And a report on that Celtic win.
Jacob Steinberg was at the London Stadium to see those youthful Hammers.
Final score: Celtic 3-2 Betis
They’re still at it at Celtic Park, and chances at both ends in the dead rubber that won’t ever end but that’s it, finally. Celtic go into the Europa Conference, and Betis go into that qualifying round against the Champions League drop-outs.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayer Leverkusen | 6 | 9 | 13 |
| 2 | Real Betis | 6 | 0 | 10 |
| 3 | Celtic | 6 | -2 | 9 |
| 4 | Ferencvaros | 6 | -7 | 3 |
Group F: Braga and Red Star draw 1-1 while Ludogorets and Midtjylland draw 0-0. Red Star and Braga’s draw - and rather conveniently - takes them both through.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Red Star Belgrade | 6 | 2 | 11 |
| 2 | Braga | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 | FC Midtjylland | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| 4 | Ludogorets | 6 | -5 | 2 |
Group E: Marseille beat Lokomotiv 1-0, while Lazio and Galatasaray drew 0-0. Both those teams were through anyway.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galatasaray | 6 | 4 | 12 |
| 2 | Lazio | 6 | 4 | 9 |
| 3 | Marseille | 6 | -1 | 7 |
| 4 | Lokomotiv Moscow | 6 | -7 | 2 |
Final score: West Ham 0-1 Dinamo Zagreb
A first win in England for the Croatians, who claim second in the group and go into the play-off. A good run-out for a few young Hammers but Orsic’s early goal wins it.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Ham | 6 | 8 | 13 |
| 2 | Dinamo Zagreb | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 | Rapid Vienna | 6 | -5 | 6 |
| 4 | Genk | 6 | -6 | 5 |
Celtic 3-2 Betis: Nine minutes added on.
Ferencvaros are 1-0 up against Leverkusen, which changes nothing for either team. The Hungarian team will finish fourth, Leverkusen had already won the group.
West Ham 0-1 Dinamo Zagreb: On comes young Freddie Potts, continuing the Hammers Potts dynasty at 18, Steve Potts was eligible to play for the USMNT, having been born in insurance capital Hartford, Connecticut.
Two more debuts made tonight!
— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 9, 2021
First up, Freddie Potts replaces Yarmolenko...#WHUDZG | #UEL 0-1 (87) pic.twitter.com/0lCKE5KA18
Celtic 3-2 Betis: There’s been a collision of Celtic players, with Nir Bitton and Osaze Urhoghide both looking groggy. Concussion corner? It looked like it. This win may come at considerable cost to Celtic and Big Ange.
Matt Burtz emails in: “In the “I guess I’m not quite as old I feel” department, Joaquin is exactly 15 days older than me, so as long as he and Zlatan keep scoring goals in competitive football, I’ll take it.”
There’s still few goals flying in elsewhere but Braga and Red Star have exchanged goals. It’s 1-1. What does that mean?
- Red Star will finish first if they win, or if they draw and Midtjylland do not win.
- Red Star will finish second if they lose and Midtjylland do not win, or if Red Star draw and Midtjylland win.
- Braga will finish first if they win. They will finish second if both they and Midtjylland do not win.
- Midtjylland will finish first if they win and the other game is drawn. They will finish second if they win and the other game is not drawn.
- Ludogorets will finish fourth.
Updated
Goal! Celtic 3-2 Betis (Turnbull, 79 pen)
Well taken by Turnbull, who drills it into the left-hand corner.
Updated
Penalty to Celtic!
This dead rubber has too much life. Abada is brought down on the edge of the box, and a lengthy delay sees it finally awarded.
Updated
Goal! Celtic 2-2 Betis (Iglesias, 75)
Instant reply, and a typically cool finish from Iglesias, with the Celtic defence almost completely absent after a Johnston error. There’s a lengthy VAR check but the goal stands.
Updated
Goal! Celtic 2-1 Betis (Henderson, 71)
Michael Johnston speeds down the right, and then Henderson, on for Kyogo, gets his first touch in guiding the ball into the net. Lovely goal.
Updated
Celtic 1-1 Betis: Terrible worry for Celtic as Kyogo pulls up, and takes to his haunches, and goes down the tunnel. It was a huge risk playing the Japanese star and how he looks set to miss the next few matches when Celtic have such a tough schedule.
Goal! Celtic 1-1 Betis (Iglesias, 69)
Joaquin rolls back the years on the wing, hits the byline, and slots it back to Borja Iglesias, who smashes the ball of the post and the back of the unfortunate Scott Bain to bounce in.
Updated
West Ham 0-1 Dinamo: Alex Kral looking lively for West Ham, who are looking a bit more dangerous. Dinamo retreating into their shells a little, and eyeing the clock.
Celtic 1-0 Betis: There was almost one of the own-goals of all time from a Betis defender, there who whacked a cross behind with real ferocity when he could have had no idea where it was going to end up. That was headed for Danny Baker’s Goals And Gaffes.
Across Europa, the goals aren’t exactly flying in. Only Celtic, Dinamo, Marseille and Rapid Vienna have scored.
Celtic 1-0 Betis: Stephen Welsh bails out his defensive colleagues after Tello, another from the famed kid winger club, speeds through. Scott Bain makes a fine save but Welsh had reduced the danger.
West Ham 0-1 Dinamo Zagreb: From a mile or two’s distance I can tell you it is absolutely tipping down in East London. The pitch is heavy at the London.
Celtic 1-0 Betis: Kyogo goes close almost from the whistle. He’s such a favourite at Parkhead, and really lifts the crowd when he plays.
Updated
We are back underway, and West Ham’s kids run out at the London Stadium. Some talk that Freddie Potts may come on, son of Hammers legend Steve Potts, and brother of Danny Potts, who played for the Hammers ten years ago or so, and is now with Luton.
King of Zing Peter Oh is in: “Hi John, Don’t beat yourself up too much about the Lille snafu. It was simply a matter of something getting LOSC in translation.
Villarreal squeaked through into the Champions League last 16.
Half-time scores:
Marseille 1-0 Lokomotiv Moscow
Lazio 0-0 Galatasaray
Braga 0-0 Red Star Belgrade
Ludogorets 0-0 Midtjylland
Ferencvaros 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen
Celtic 1-0 Betis
West Ham 0-1 Dinamo Zagreb
Genk 0-0 Rapid Vienna
Goal! Marseille 1-0 Lokomotiv Moscow (Milik, 35)
A header by the Polish forward means that Lokomotiv need to score at least twice to get a place in the Conference League.
West Ham 0-1 Dinamo Zagreb: Arijan Ademi heads over as Zagreb push for another. The veteran should have scored.
Updated
Goal! Genk 0-1 Rapid Vienna (Ljubicic, 29)
Reminder: Genk will finish second if they win and Dinamo lose. Genk will finish third if they draw, or if they win and Dinamo do not lose.
Celtic 1-0 Betis: Bad news for Celtic, as Albian Ajeti pulls up with an injury. That brings on Kyogo Furuhashi, which seems a risk with Celtic having eight matches to play before their winter break.
Alexandre “That Guy” Chesneau emails in. “I don’t want to be that guy, but I’ll be that guy: by typing naming Lille as LOSC Lille, you just named them as Lille OSC Lille.”
I’ll blame copying Barry’s copious notes, which he kindly forwarded me. And me for not checking.
Celtic 1-0 Betis: Joaquin forces a save from Scott Bain after some slack defending. Anyone else remember Joaquin as the boychild of football? He played at the 2002 World Cup for crikey’s sake. And that was two years before Sonny Perkins was born. There’s some antics at Parkhead where VAR looks at a Soro elbow but choose to book him rather than red-card him.
West Ham 0-1 Dinamo Zagreb: Two youngsters show off their skills. Harrison Ashby surges down the flank to set up Sonny Perkins, the 17-year-old from Hackney, who drags his shot wide.
West Ham 0-1 Dinamo Zagreb: The visitors are having the better of it, and looking to add to that goal. That means they would finish second and qualify for the, er, qualifying round with the teams who dropped from the Champions League.
And our report from Rangers’ draw at Lyon.
Here’s Paul Doyle’s report on Leicester’s disappointment.
A reminder of the two British teams playing tonight, both flushed with youth
West Ham: Areola, Ashby, Baptiste, Alese, Longelo, Noble, Kral,
Yarmolenko, Fornals, Vlasic, Perkins. Subs: Coufal, Lanzini, Benrahma, Diop, Martin, Randolph, Swyer, Appiah-Forson, Potts.
Dinamo Zagreb: Livakovic, Sutalo, Theophile-Catherine, Peric, Ristovski, Ademi, Gojak, Stefulj, Ivanusec, Orsic, Andric. Subs: Cavlina, Zagorac, Moharrami, Lauritsen, Tolic, Misic, Bulat, Juric, Baturina, Dilaver, Menalo, Spikic.
--------
Celtic: Bain, Bitton, Welsh, Montgomery, Scales, Urhoghide, Shaw, McCarthy, Soro, Abada, Ajeti. Subs: Taylor, Furuhashi, Turnbull, Hart, Johnston, McGregor, Murray, Henderson, Oluwayemi, Juranovic.
Real Betis: Rui Silva, Ruibal, Pezzella, Edgar Gonzalez, Miranda, Akouokou, William Carvalho, Lainez, Joaquin, Tello, Iglesias. Subs: Montoya, Bartra, Victor Ruiz, Juanmi, Canales, Willian Jose, Alex Moreno, Guardado, Rodriguez, Roberto Gonzalez, Rebollo.
Goal! West Ham 0-1 Dinamo Zagreb ( Oršić, 5)
It was a long-range finish, and one from a speculative distance but it flew in. West Ham’s team is fairly youthful itself.
Updated
Goal! Celtic 1-0 Real Betis (Welsh, 3)
It’s a corner to Celtic and Stephen Welsh nods in. Ange Postecoglou is playing the weans tonight, and that’s a great start.
Updated
Right then, the Europa League. The whistle have blown across Europa and away we go.
The social media banter is in.
Since I was a small boy I’ve dreamed of @LCFC winning the Europa Conference League. It’s a step closer after tonight. 😏
— Gary Lineker 💙 (@GaryLineker) December 9, 2021
Here’s the full set of Champions League last-16 qualifiers, now complete after that Atalanta-Villarreal game was delayed by snow.
Confirmed group winners (seeded)
Ajax (NED)
Bayern (GER)
Juventus (ITA)
Liverpool (ENG)
LOSC Lille (FRA)
Manchester City (ENG)
Manchester United (ENG)
Real Madrid (ESP)
Confirmed group runners-up (unseeded)
Atlético (ESP)
Benfica (POR)
Chelsea (ENG)
Inter (ITA)
Paris Saint-Germain (FRA)
Salzburg (AUT)
Sporting CP (POR)
Villarreal (ESP)
Villarreal into Champions League last 16, Atalanta out
Last year’s Europa League winners complete the set after a 3-2 win in Bergamo, and the Serie A team go into the Europa League.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man Utd | 6 | 3 | 11 |
| 2 | Villarreal | 6 | 3 | 10 |
| 3 | Atalanta | 6 | -1 | 6 |
| 4 | Young Boys | 6 | -5 | 5 |
Group H
Genk v Rapid Vienna (8pm)
West Ham v Dinamo Zagreb (8pm)
- West Ham are through to the round of 16 as group winners.
- Dinamo will finish second if they avoid defeat or if Genk do not win.
- Genk will finish second if they win and Dinamo lose. Genk will finish third if they draw, or if they win and Dinamo do not lose.
- Rapid are unable to finish in the top two. They will finish third if they win.
Group G
Celtic v Real Betis (8pm)
Ferencvaros v Bayer Leverkusen (8pm)
- Leverkusen are through to the round of 16 as group winners.
- Betis are through to the knockout play-offs as group runners-up.
- Celtic will finish third and enter the UEFA Europa Conference League knockout play-offs.
- Ferencvaros will finish fourth.
Group F
Ludogorets v FC Midtyjlland (8pm)
SC Braga v Red Star Belgrade (8pm)
- Red Star will finish first if they win, or if they draw and Midtjylland do not win.
- Braga will finish first if they win. They will finish second if both they and Midtjylland do not win.
- Midtjylland will finish first if they win and the other game is drawn. They will finish second if they win and the other game is not drawn.
- Ludogorets will finish fourth.
Evening, all. I’m not sure we can promise the excitement of the early matches but let’s set stuff up for the late shift.
Group E
Lazio v Galatasaray (8pm)
Marseille v Lokomotiv Moscow (8pm)
- Galatasaray have clinched a top-two finish. They will finish first if they do not lose.
- Lazio have clinched a top-two finish. They will finish first if they win.
- Marseille are unable to finish in the top two. They will finish third and qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League if they do not lose.
- Lokomotiv are unable to finish in the top two. They will finish third and qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League if they win.
That’s all from me. John Brewin is here to guide you through the 8pm kick-offs.
Europa League full-times
Group A
- Lyon 1-1 Rangers
- Sparta Prague 2-0 Brondby
Group B
- Real Sociedad 3-0 PSV Eindhoven
- Sturm Graz 1-1 Monaco
Group C
- Legia Warsaw 0-1 Spartak Moscow
- Napoli 3-2 Leicester City
Group D
- Fenerbahce 1-1Eintracht Frankfurt
- Royal Antwerp 1-0 Olympiacos
- Teams in bold advance to knockout stages
- View the Europa League group tables
Leicester are OUT of the Europa League ...
Legia Warsaw miss their late penalty and the full-time whistle blows in Warsaw. Spartak Moscow go through as Group C winners, with Napoli joining them in second place. Leicester finish third and go into the Europa Conference League.
Full time: Napoli 3-2 Leicester City
Group C: Napoli book their place in the knockout stages but Leicester could get a late, late reprieve as Legia Warsaw win a penalty in the eighth minute of added time against Spartak Moscow. If they score it, Leicester City will go through with Napoli. Oh my ...
Napoli 3-2 Leciester City: Leicester win a late free-kick just inside the Napoli half. Maddison sends the ball into the box and Napoli clear.
Napoli 3-2 Leicester: Unmarked in the Napoli penbalty area, Jamie Vardy squanders a glorious chance to eqwualise for Leicester, getting a bit too much purchase on a header and sending the ball looping over the bar.
Full time: Lyon 1-1 Rangers
Group A: It’s finished all sqaure in Lyon, where the hosts go through to the knockout stages as group winners and Rangers join them as next best of the four teams.
Napoli 3-2 Leicester City: Schmeichel saves brilliantly – if a little fortuitously – with his shoulder from a Kevin Malqui piledriver. Nothing comes from the ensuing corner.
Napoili 3-2 Leicester City: Leicester City win a corner but the ball is sent straight from the quadrant into the gloves of Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret. There are less than five minutes of normal time to go.
Champions League: It’s currently Atalanta 1-3 Villarreal in Bergamo, where a draw will be enough to send the Spanish side into the knockout stages and relegate their hosts to the Europa League.
Napoli 3-2 Leicester: Castagne pulls a low ball across the penalty area but Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall slips as he swings his left foot and completely off balance, shanks the ball high and wide of the Napoli goal.
Napoli 3-2 Leicester City: Maddison chips the ball forward to Patson Daka, on as a substitue, who lays it off to Jamie Vardy with his first touch. The striker shoots into the side-netting.
Napoli 3-2 Leicester City: James Maddison draws a foul out by the left touchline and curls the ball into the penalty area. Napoli win a free-kick of their own for some wrassling on the part of one of the visitors as the ball was floated in.
Lyon 1-1 Rangers: It remains all square in Lyon, where the hosts are guaranteed to top Group A ahead of Rangers in second place whatever the outcome tonight.
Napoli 3-2 Leicester City: As things stand, it is now Leicester City who will be dropping into the Europa Conference League play-offs, which probably isn’t what Gary had in mind when he quit his BT Sport gig to follow them around Europe this season.
They have 28 minutes left to rescue the point that will keep them in the Europa League. Dries Mertens is on for Napoli, looking for his 138th goal for the Italian club.
Watching this @LCFC team should carry a health warning. 🤯
— Gary Lineker 💙 (@GaryLineker) December 9, 2021
Napoli 3-2 Leicester City: From the byline, Di Lorenzo plays the ball across his own penalty area, straight to the feet of James Maddison on the edge of said rectangle. Unable to believe his luck, the Leicester No10 advances and pulls the trigger only to smash the ball off the outside of the post.
GOAL! Napoli 3-2 Leicester City (Elmas 53)
Napoli retake the lead. Elmas makes no mistake this time. Napoli attack down the right, the ball is pulled back through the Leicester penalty area by Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Elmas fires home through the legs of Jonny Evans after taking a touch to steady himself. Atroicious defending from Leicester.
Updated
Napoli 2-2 Leicester City: Napoli corner. Elif Elmas rises above Leicester right-back Timothy Castagne at the back post but can’t steer his downwards header on target. That was a chance!
Napoli 2-2 Leicester City: Scrambling to avoid the Europa Conference League, Napoli start the second half brightly. Already on the scoresheet, Adam Ounas brings a smart save out of Kasper Schmeichel with a shot that looked to be creeping inside the right post.
Women’s Champions League: Arsenal host reigning champions Barcelona tonight, hoping to avenge their 4-1 defeat in the corresponding fixture back in October. Kick-off is at 7pm (GMT) and Nick Ames has the latest.
GOAL! Lyon 1-1 Rangers (Bassey 48og)
It’s all square in Lyon. Calvin Bassey has just stuck out a leg to intercept a cross from the right only to deflect the ball past the hopelessly wrong-footed Rangers goalkeeper Jon McLoughlin.
Champions League: Villarreal lead Atalanta by two goals to no score in Bergamo, putting them in the box-seat to qualify for the knockout stages in a rescheduled game from which they only need a draw.
Europa League half-times
Group A
Lyon 0-1 Rangers
Sparta Prague 1-0 Brondby
- Lyon are through to the round of 16 as group winners.
- Rangers are through to the knockout play-offs as group runners-up.
- Sparta Prague will finish third if they avoid defeat.
- Brondby will finish third if they win.
Group B
Real Sociedad 1-0 PSV Eindhoven
Sturm Graz 1-1 Monaco
- Monaco are through to the round of 16 as group winners.
- PSV will finish second if they avoid defeat.
- Real Sociedad will finish second if they win.
- Sturm Graz will finish fourth.
Group C
Legia Warsaw 0-1 Spartak Moscow
Napoli 2-2 Leicester City
- Leicester City will finish first if they win, or if both games are drawn. Leicester will finish second if they lose and the other game is drawn. Leicester cannot finish below third.
- Spartak Moscow will finish first if they win and Leicester do not. Spartak will finish second if both they and Leicester win, or if both games are drawn. Spartak will finish third if they draw and Napoli win or if both they and Napoli lose.
- Napoli will finish first if they win and Spartak do not. Napoli will finish second if both they and Spartak win. Napoli will finish third if both games are drawn, or if they lose and Legia do not win.
- Legia Warsaw will finish second if they win. Legia will finish fourth if they do not win.
Group D
Fenerbahce 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Royal Antwerp 1-0 Olympiacos
- Frankfurt have clinched a top-two finish. They will finish first if they avoid defeat or if Olympiacos do not win.
- Olympiacos have clinched a top-two finish. They will finish first if they win and Frankfurt lose.
- Fenerbahce will finish third and enter the Europa Conference League knockout play-offs.
- Antwerp will finish fourth.
Half-time: Napoli 2-2 Leicester City: It is bucketing down in Naples, where Leicester City have come from two goals down to restore parity. As things stand they would advance to the knockout stages behind Spartak Moscow with Napoli dropping into the Europa Conference League.
Half-time: Lyon 0-1 Rangers: Scott Wright’s goal late in the first half separates the sides. The final score will make no difference to the Group A standings - Lyon will finish top and Rangers in second place whatever the outcome.
Napoli 2-2 Leicester City: Napoli’s Hirving Lozano is stretchered off after a lengthy bout of treatment in torrential rain after tripping and shipping an accidental but fairly hard knee or hip to the mouth from Wilfred Ndidi. It looks like he might have lost or broken a couple of teeth there.
GOAL! Lyon 0-1 Rangers (Wright 42)
Rangers take the lead in Lyon: Ryan Kent and Glen Kamara combine delightfully down the left before the ball is roilled into the path of Scott Wight, who scored with a rising left-footed drive.
Updated
GOAL! Napoli 2-2 Leicester City (Dewsbury Hall 33)
Leicester level proceedings. Andrea Petagna concedes a free-kick in a dangerous position and then only half-clears James Maddison’s delivery into the path of Dewsbury Hall. The youngster volleys into the bottom corner from outside the penalty area.
Updated
Europa League latest
Group A
Lyon 0-0 Rangers
Sparta Prague 0-0 Brondby
- Lyon are through to the round of 16 as group winners.
- Rangers are through to the knockout play-offs as group runners-up.
- Sparta Prague will finish third if they avoid defeat.
- Brondby will finish third if they win.
Group B
Real Sociedad 0-0 PSV Eindhoven
Sturm Graz 1-0 Monaco
- Monaco are through to the round of 16 as group winners.
- PSV will finish second if they avoid defeat.
- Real Sociedad will finish second if they win.
- Sturm Graz will finish fourth.
Group C
Legia Warsaw 0-1 Spartak Moscow
Napoli 2-1 Leicester City
- Leicester City will finish first if they win, or if both games are drawn. Leicester will finish second if they lose and the other game is drawn. Leicester cannot finish below third.
- Spartak Moscow will finish first if they win and Leicester do not. Spartak will finish second if both they and Leicester win, or if both games are drawn. Spartak will finish third if they draw and Napoli win or if both they and Napoli lose.
- Napoli will finish first if they win and Spartak do not. Napoli will finish second if both they and Spartak win. Napoli will finish third if both games are drawn, or if they lose and Legia do not win.
- Legia Warsaw will finish second if they win. Legia will finish fourth if they do not win.
Group D
Fenerbahce 0-0 Eintracht Frankfurt
Royal Antwerp 1-0 Olympiacos
- Frankfurt have clinched a top-two finish. They will finish first if they avoid defeat or if Olympiacos do not win.
- Olympiacos have clinched a top-two finish. They will finish first if they win and Frankfurt lose.
- Fenerbahce will finish third and enter the UEFA Europa Conference League knockout play-offs.
- Antwerp will finish fourth.
GOAL! Napoli 2-1 Leicester City (Evans 27)
Leicester pull one back. From a free-kick wide on the left, Jamie Vardy misses the flick-on. The ball clatters off the shins of Elmas and into the path of Jonny Evans in a well-populated penalty area and he smashes home with his left foot.
Updated
GOAL! Napoli 2-0 Leicester City (Elmas 24)
Oh dear! Ryan Bertrand sits way too deep playing two Napoli forwards onside as they run on to a through ball from deep. Andrea Petagna finds himself through on goal, one-on-one with Kasper Schmeichel but lays the ball off to Elif Elmas a couple of yards to his left and the Macedonian rolls it into an empty net.
Updated
Napoli 1-0 Leicester City: The ball breaks to Wilfred Ndidi eight yards out from the Napoli goal at a Leicester corner. He leathers it towards goal but his powerful effort is blocked.
Elsewhere in Group C, Spartak Moscow have taken the lead against Legia Warsaw, with Zelimkhan Bakaev’s strike relegating Leicester to third place and an unwanted place in the Conference League as things stand.
Napoli 1-0 Leicester City: That goal, which came from an error as Leciester tried to play the ball out from the back, means Leicester City have now conceded in 16 consecutive matches.
They almost concede another as the ball breaks to Adam Ounas on the edge of the penalty area and his shot is deflected a foot or so over the bar by Ryan Bertrand, who stuck out a leg to block.
Napoli 1-0 Leicester City: Curiously, Dreis Mertens is on the Napoli bench tonight, despite his recent good form. The Belgian has scored five goals in his past six games.
Lyon v Rangers: It remains scoreless in Lyon as they approach the 10-minute mark in a game of no consequence whatsoever. Karl Toko Ekambi has had the only shot on target thus far, but his effort was scuffed and straight at Rangers goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin.
Napoli v Leicester City: That’s an early setback for Leicester, who should have scored a minute previously. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall had acres of space to run on to a pull-back and his low drive was goalbound, but Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret saved at his near post. Truth be told, it was a bad miss.
GOAL! Napoli 1-0 Leicester City (Ounas 4)
Napoli take the lead! Adam Ounas puts Napoli in front, firing in a low diagonal effort through the legs of Caglar Soyuncu and past Kasper Schmeichel into the far corner.
Updated
Napoli v Leicester City: Napoli win an early free-kick as Ryan Bertrand fouls Adam Ounas, who is making his first start of the season for injury-ravaged Serie A side. Leicester left several players at home due to Covid and other illnesses but have a strong squad in Italy tonight.
Updated
Our 5.45pm (GMT) Europa League kick-offs are go ...
Whistles blow the length and breadth of Europe, as play begins.
Champions League: Atalanta host Villarreal in the Group F game postponed from yesterday and the winners will advance to the knockout stages in second place behind Manchester United. A draw will do Villarreal and kick-off is at 6pm.
Europa Conference League: Vitesse Arnhem have announced their dissatisfaction with the postponement of Tottenham’s match against Rennes.
If the Dutch side they draw with or beat Mura they will overtake Spurs into second place in the group. They are unhappy that such an outcome would leave Spurs knowing exactly what they need to do to overtake them if their game against Rennes is rescheduled.
Brendan Rodgers speaks: “We come here confident we can get the result that will take us through,” the Leicester City boss tells BT Sport.
“Naturally players not being available [because of Covid-19 and illness] disrupts us and it has been a complicated build-up but we have some top players coming back as well.”
Napoli v Leicester City line-ups
Napoli: Meret, Di Lorenzo, Rrahmani, Juan Jesus, Mario Rui, Demme, Zielinski, Ounas, Lozano, Elmas, Petagna.
Subs: Boffelli, Malcuit, Mertens, Politano, Ospina, Manolas, Costanzo, Vergara.
Leicester: Schmeichel, Castagne, Evans, Soyuncu, Bertrand, Ndidi, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall, Maddison, Barnes, Vardy.
Subs: Albrighton, Ward, Choudhury, Daka, Thomas, Stolarczyk, Soumare, Nelson, McAteer, Ewing.
Referee: Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz (Spain)
Lyon v Rangers line-ups
Lyon: Pollersbeck, Vogel, Damien Da Silva, Lukeba, Henrique, Caqueret, Keita, Cherki, Shaqiri, Toko Ekambi, Dembele.
Subs: Bonnevie, Bradley Barcola, Lopes, Emerson Palmieri, Aouar, Kadewere, Dubois, Gusto, Slimani, Thiago Mendes, Boateng, Bruno Guimaraes.
Rangers: McLaughlin, Patterson, Goldson, Bassey, Barisic, Wright, Lundstram, Kamara, Roofe, Hagi, Kent.
Subs: McGregor, Tavernier, Davis, Aribo, Bacuna, Kelly, McCrorie, Arfield.
Referee: Radu Petrescu (Romania)
Tonight's 8pm (GMT) kick-offs
Group E
Lazio v Galatasaray (8pm)
Marseille v Lokomotiv Moscow (8pm)
- Galatasaray have clinched a top-two finish. They will finish first if they do not lose.
- Lazio have clinched a top-two finish. They will finish first if they win.
- Marseille are unable to finish in the top two. They will finish third and qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League if they do not lose.
- Lokomotiv are unable to finish in the top two. They will finish third and qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League if they win.
Group F
Ludogorets v FC Midtyjlland (8pm)
SC Braga v Red Star Belgrade (8pm)
- Red Star will finish first if they win, or if they draw and Midtjylland do not win. Crvena zvezda will finish second if they lose and Midtjylland do not win, or if Crvena zvezda draw and Midtjylland win.
- Braga will finish first if they win. They will finish second if both they and Midtjylland do not win.
- Midtjylland will finish first if they win and the other game is drawn. They will finish second if they win and the other game is not drawn.
- Ludogorets will finish fourth.
Group G
Celtic v Real Betis (8pm)
Ferencvaros v Bayer Leverkusen (8pm)
- Leverkusen are through to the round of 16 as group winners.
- Betis are through to the knockout play-offs as group runners-up.
- Celtic will finish third and enter the Europa Conference League knockout play-offs.
- Ferencvaros will finish fourth.
Group H
Genk v Rapid Vienna (8pm)
West Ham v Dinamo Zagreb (8pm)
- West Ham are through to the round of 16 as group winners.
- Dinamo will finish second if they avoid defeat or if Genk do not win.
- Genk will finish second if they win and Dinamo lose. Genk will finish third if they draw, or if they win and Dinamo do not lose.
- Rapid are unable to finish in the top two. They will finish third if they win.
Tonight's 5.45pm (GMT) kick-offs
Group A
Lyon v Rangers (5.45pm)
Sparta Prague v Brondby (5.45pm)
- Lyon are through to the round of 16 as group winners.
- Rangers are through to the knockout play-offs as group runners-up.
- Sparta Prague will finish third if they avoid defeat.
- Brondby will finish third if they win.
Group B
Real Sociedad v PSV Eindhoven (5.45pm)
Sturm Graz v Monaco (5.45pm)
- Monaco are through to the round of 16 as group winners.
- PSV will finish second if they avoid defeat.
- Real Sociedad will finish second if they win.
- Sturm Graz will finish fourth.
Group C
Legia Warsaw v Spartak Moscow (5.45pm)
Napoli v Leicester City (5.45pm)
- Leicester City will finish first if they win, or if both games are drawn. Leicester will finish second if they lose and the other game is drawn. Leicester cannot finish below third.
- Spartak Moscow will finish first if they win and Leicester do not. Spartak will finish second if both they and Leicester win, or if both games are drawn. Spartak will finish third if they draw and Napoli win or if both they and Napoli lose.
- Napoli will finish first if they win and Spartak do not. Napoli will finish second if both they and Spartak win. Napoli will finish third if both games are drawn, or if they lose and Legia do not win.
- Legia Warsaw will finish second if they win. Legia will finish fourth if they do not win.
Group D
Fenerbahce v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.45pm)
Royal Antwerp v Olympiacos (5.45pm)
- Frankfurt have clinched a top-two finish. They will finish first if they avoid defeat or if Olympiacos do not win.
- Olympiacos have clinched a top-two finish. They will finish first if they win and Frankfurt lose.
- Fenerbahce will finish third and enter the UEFA Europa Conference League knockout play-offs.
- Antwerp will finish fourth.
Europa League clockwatch
West Ham, Leicester City, Rangers and Celtic are all in action in the final round of matches in the group stages ODF European football’s second-tier competition this evening, although the games featuring West Ham, Rangers and Celtic are dead rubbers. West Ham have already qualified for the knockout stages as Group winners, Rangers are already guaranteed to finish second behind Lyon in Group A and Celtic cannot improve on their third place in Group G and will drop into the Europa Conference League.
Leicester’s future in the competition remains less clear. Having travelled to Naples without eight players who have been ruled out through injury or illness, Brendan Rodgers’ side can still occupy any of the top three places in Group C. They will finish first if they win, or if both games are drawn. They will finish second if they lose and the other game is drawn. They cannot finish below third.
It’s also a Europa League clockwatch with a difference, with one rescheduled game from the Champions League group stages muscling in on the action. Atalanta host Villarreal in their Group F game Bergamo at 6pm, after the game was snowed off last night.
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