Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Reuters
Reuters
Sport
Philip O'Connor

Wolves and Wolfsburg progress, Arsenal must wait after home loss

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group F - Arsenal v Eintracht Frankfurt - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - November 28, 2019 Arsenal manager Unai Emery REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Wolverhampton Wanderers, Braga, Vfl Wolfsburg, Sporting and AZ Alkmaar all booked places in the Europa League knockout stages on Thursday but struggling Arsenal must wait after losing at home to Eintracht Frankfurt at a half-empty Emirates.

Gent, LASK and APOEL Nicosia also reached the last 32 but Arsenal's woes continued as Frankfurt's Daichi Kamada scored twice to secure a 2-1 win over Unai Emery's team in their Group F clash on a night when places in the last 32 were up for grabs.

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group F - Arsenal v Eintracht Frankfurt - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - November 28, 2019 Arsenal's Mesut Ozil in action with Eintracht Frankfurt's Filip Kostic REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

The North London side are still likely to go through but won't be able to confirm their spot until their last game at Belgian side Standard Liege, who drew 1-1 at Vitoria SC.

Arsenal had taken the lead in the first half through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but Japanese midfielder Kamada's double after the break increased the pressure on under-fire Emery.

Arsenal have now played seven games in a row without a win in all competitions for the first time since 1992. Frankfurt's winning goal saw home fans holding up cards saying "Emery Out".

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group F - Arsenal v Eintracht Frankfurt - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - November 28, 2019 Eintracht Frankfurt's Daichi Kamada in action with Arsenal's Matteo Guendouzi Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

Their 48-year-old Spanish manager cut a lonely figure on the sidelines as his sorry side failed to conjure up an equaliser.

Sporting had no such problems as they hammered visiting PSV Eindhoven 4-0 to qualify from Group D and will be joined by LASK of Austria who beat Norwegians Rosenborg 2-1 in Trondheim.

APOEL Nicosia cruised to a 2-0 win at Dudelange and got a helping hand from Group A winners Sevilla, who beat Qarabag by the same scoreline to put the Cypriots through as runners-up.

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group F - Arsenal v Eintracht Frankfurt - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - November 28, 2019 Eintracht Frankfurt's Daichi Kamada celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

Lazio got the 1-0 win they needed over CFR Cluj to keep their hopes alive, while Scottish champions Celtic secured top spot in Group E with a 3-1 win at home to Stade Rennes.

Group B is still up for grabs after FC Copenhagen eliminated Lugano with a 1-0 away win and Malmo beat Dynamo Kiev 4-3 with a last-gasp Markus Rosenberg goal as the 37-year-old scored his second goal of the night in his last home game for the club.

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group F - Arsenal v Eintracht Frankfurt - Emirates Stadium, London, Britain - November 28, 2019 Arsenal players reacts after Eintracht Frankfurt's Daichi Kamada scores their second goal REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

WOLVES THRILLER

In the early games, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Braga played out a thrilling 3-3 draw to book their last-32 spots.

Wolves were pegged back by Braga after taking a 3-1 halftime lead on a poor pitch in the Portuguese rain but both sides qualified from Group K as Besiktas, who were already out of contention, ended Slovan Bratislava's hopes with a 2-1 win.

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group K - S.C. Braga v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Estadio Municipal de Braga, Braga, Portugal - November 28, 2019 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Romain Saiss in action with S.C. Braga's Wilson Eduardo REUTERS/Rafael Marchante

Ten-man Alkmaar had substitute Ferdy Druijf to thank for two late goals as they recovered to draw 2-2 at home to Partizan Belgrade in Group L and join leaders Manchester United, whose second-string side lost 2-1 at Astana, in the knockout phase.

Wout Weghorst's penalty put Wolfsburg through with a 1-0 win against Ukrainians Oleksandriya and were joined by Group I leaders Gent, who drew 0-0 at French side Saint Etienne.

AS Roma boosted their hopes of qualifying from Group J by winning 3-0 at Istanbul Basaksehir with first-half goals from Jordan Veretout, Justin Kluivert and Eden Dzeko, while Borussia Moenchendgladbach went top with a 1-0 win at Wolfsberger AC.

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group K - S.C. Braga v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Estadio Municipal de Braga, Braga, Portugal - November 28, 2019 Wolverhampton Wanderers' Diogo Jota shoots at goal Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra

In Group G, Porto grabbed a lifeline with a 2-1 away win over Swiss side Young Boys to keep themselves in contention, while Scottish side Rangers moved into first place on eight points with a gritty 2-2 draw at Feyenoord.

Already-qualified Espanyol missed the chance to secure top spot in Group H as they drew 2-2 away to Ferencvaros, and Russian side CSKA saw their chances of progressing evaporate as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Ludogorets in Moscow.

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group K - S.C. Braga v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Estadio Municipal de Braga, Braga, Portugal - November 28, 2019 S.C. Braga's Fransergio scores their third goal Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra

(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; editing by Ken Ferris)

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group I - Olexandriya v VfL Wolfsburg - Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine - November 28, 2019 VfL Wolfsburg's Wout Weghorst scores their first goal from the penalty spot REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group I - Olexandriya v VfL Wolfsburg - Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine - November 28, 2019 FC Olexandriya's Vladislav Baboglo in action with VfL Wolfsburg's Wout Weghorst REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Europa League - Group I - Olexandriya v VfL Wolfsburg - Arena Lviv, Lviv, Ukraine - November 28, 2019 Olexandriya players applaud fans at the end of the match REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.