Friday, November 30, 2018

UEFA Europa League: Milan avoid upset vs Luxembourg's Dudelange, Giroud double keeps Chelsea perfect

AC Milan was given a helping hand by two own goals as it survived a big scare before beating Dudelange of Luxembourg 5-2 in the Europa League on Thursday.

The seven-time European Cup winner trailed 2-1 early in the second half before storming back with four goals in the last 24 minutes in the Group F tie.

Salzburg clinched a place in the knockout stage with a 1-0 win over Leipzig in Group B, while Zenit defeated Copenhagen by the same score to go through from Group C.

Real Betis also progressed in Group F after a 1-0 home victory over Olympiacos. Dynamo Kiev went through with a 1-0 triumph at Astana in Group K, and was joined in the last 32 by Fenerbahce after it drew 0-0 with Dinamo Zagreb in Group D.

Seven clubs, including Arsenal and Chelsea, had already qualified for the knockout stage.

Arsenal secured top spot in Group E with a 3-0 victory at Vorskla on Thursday, a game that was switched from Poltava to Kiev because of political tension between Ukraine and Russia.

Organizer UEFA ordered the game to be moved to the capital city after Ukraine imposed martial law in some regions of the country.

Sporting thrashed Qarabag 6-1 to finish second behind Arsenal in the group.

Here's a look at Thursday's action:

MILAN FIGHTBACK

Patrick Cutrone gave Milan a 1-0 lead before Dudelange hit back with a right-foot shot high into the net from Dominik Stolz and a strike by Dave Turpel.

The Italian heavyweight leveled with an own goal from Stelvio Rosa da Cruz in the 66th minute and four minutes later Hakan Calhanoglu made it 3-2.

Tom Schnell also put through his own net with 13 minutes to go before substitute Fabio Borini finished off Dudelange.

Milan has 10 points from five games in Group F, one behind Betis which made the knockout stage for the first time since 2014 thanks to its win over Olympiacos (seven points). Dudelange is bottom with zero points.

SPORTING CRUISES

Two goals from Bruno Fernandes and Abdoulay Diaby, and one apiece from Bas Dost (penalty) and Nani led Sporting to its comfortable win at Qarabag.

At the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, a second-string Arsenal team eased past Vorskla with goals from Emile Smith Rowe, Aaron Ramsey (penalty) and Joe Willock

Arsenal tops Group E with 13 points, three ahead of Sporting.

OTHER GROUPS

Benjamin Verbic scored in the first half as Kiev topped Group K with 11 points from five games. Astana can also go through later in the day if third-place Rennes fails to win at bottom club Jablonec.

In Group G, Mert Muldur and Philipp Schobesberger netted in the last 10 minutes to guide Rapid Vienna to a 2-1 win at Spartak Moscow that kept the Austrian team's hopes alive.

A fan ran on to the pitch when Spartak was leading and appeared to confront captain Denis Glushakov. Many Spartak supporters have accused Glushakov of helping to force out former coach Massimo Carrera, a fan favorite, last month.

The supporter was led off the field by home goalkeeper Artyom Rebrov and security staff. Vienna leads the group with seven points. Moscow has five, the same as Rangers, which faces second-place Villarreal later on Thursday.



from The Malta Independent https://ift.tt/2P7lfxu
via IFTTT

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