Wilson Eduardo scored twice as Académica stunned the UEFA Europa League holders in Coimbra. Atlético still lead the way in Group B, but their loss allowed FC Viktoria Plzeň to pull level on points thanks to an emphatic 4-0 victory against Hapoel Tel-Aviv FC.
Tottenham 3 – 1 Nk
Maribor
Jermain Defoe scored a hat-trick as Tottenham defeated
Maribor 3-1 to move into second place in Europa League Group J.
Defoe's opening goal was cancelled out by an equaliser
from the Slovenian side as Kyle Naughton and Hugo Lloris got in a tangle before
the England striker struck twice more in the second half.
Spurs began in impressive fashion, with Gareth Bale
causing problems down the left flank from the outset.
The Wales international struggled to find a telling cross
until midway through the opening half though, when he picked out Defoe for the
opening goal.
Bale whipped the ball into the area and Defoe opened up
his body to direct a side-footed volley past Maribor keeper Jasmin Handanovic
and into the corner of the net (22).
Emmanuel Adebayor tried to extend the lead but he could
only direct a weak header straight at Handanovic as Andre Villas-Boas' side
failed to turn possession into goalscoring opportunities.
Instead it was Maribor who grew in confidence as the half
progressed, with Goran Cvijanovic nodding over after Tottenham goalkeeper
Lloris could only palm a low cross from Marcos Tavares in his direction.
If that was a warning then Spurs failed to heed it and
their Slovenian opponents were level five minutes from half-time in farcical
circumstances.
Naughton played an inadvisable back-pass to Lloris and as
the Frenchman tried to clear, Robert Beric
intercepted and slotted the ball
into an empty net.
That moved the England international onto 14 goals in
European club competition for Spurs to move him into second place behind Martin
Peters in the club's list of highest scorers.
Adebayor almost added another but he volleyed wide as he
failed to properly control a ball from Bale, with Maribor defender Arghus
Soares then lucky to stay on the field after appearing to foul Defoe just
outside the area.
Handanovic made a smart save to deny Adebayor as Spurs
dominated but he could do nothing to prevent Defoe securing his treble, a
flowing move ending with the striker getting ahead of his marker to slot home
another pinpoint Bale cross on 77 as the home side wrapped up the win.
Newcastle remain top of Europa League Group D after
coming from two goals down to draw 2-2 away to Bruges.
Goals from Ivan Trickovski and Jesper Jorgensen put the
home side in the box-seat but Vurnon Anita and Shola Ameobi scored before the
interval to earn a point for Alan Pardew's side.
Newcastle were lacklustre in the opening exchanges, with
Tim Krul fortunate Carlos Bocca could not find a crucial pass after he had
charged down the goalkeeper's poor clearance.
They went behind on 14 minutes though, with Trickovski
scoring his first Bruges goal after bringing down a long ball from the back
before turning inside Fabricio Coloccini and hitting a low left-foot shot past
Krul.
Jorgensen then doubled the home side's lead five minutes
later after his shot from 22 yards crept between Krul and his post after
Jorgensen had latched onto a weak defensive header from James Tavernier.
That finally appeared to spark Newcastle into life,
although Sylvain Marveaux was guilty of a miskick when unmarked in the centre
after Gabriel Obertan had played an inviting cross in from the left.
Shola Ameobi then saw a header tipped over the bar by
home keeper Bojan Jorgacevic after Ameobi's brother Sammy had crossed from the
right wing.
But the pressure finally paid off as Newcastle scored
twice in three minutes to draw level before the break.
Anita scored his first goal since joining the club from
Ajax as he struck a volley with the outside of his right boot that found the
net from just outside the penalty area (41).
Shola Ameobi then netted the equaliser with a neat
toe-poked finish past Jorgacevic after his brother had once again played him in
(43).
The second half featured fewer clearcut chances, although
Shola Ameobi continued to impress as he forced a couple of decent save out of
the Bruges keeper.
Yohan Cabaye also hit the post from a free-kick that had
Jorgacevic well beaten but it was the home side that came closest to finding a
winner.
Krul was forced to save well from headers by Carl
Hoefkens and Mohammed Tchite before Jorgensen went close a minute from time.
His side-footed half-volley from a corner looked destined
for the top corner but it just cleared the goal and Newcastle held firm in the
final few minutes.
Anji Makhachkala 1
– 0 Liverpool
Liverpool were usurped at the top of their Europa League
group by Anzhi Makhachkala after an under-strength side lost 1-0 in Moscow.
Lacina Traore's fine individual goal in first-half
stoppage-time was enough to send Guus Hiddink's oligarch-backed side to the top
of Group A and leave the visitors' hopes of reaching the knockout stage in the
balance.
Brendan Rodgers left the likes of Steven Gerrard and Luis
Suarez at home with one eye on Sunday's trip to Chelsea but though his
inexperienced side toiled keenly, they too rarely threatened Anzhi's goal.
In near-freezing temperatures and in front of a palty
crowd - the match played 1,000 miles from Makhachkala for security reasons - it
hardly promised to be a classic and there were scant early thrills to reward
anyone's journey.
Rasim Tagirbekov found space down the left, only to watch
Brad Jones easily claim his weak shot, while 6-foot-8 Traore lingered with
intent and almost muscled his way onto a clever through-ball.
A stodgy midfield battle ensued on the patchy turf before
Jonjo Shelvey inspired some Liverpool rhythm but promising build-up play
fizzled out, John Flanagan dragging a shot well wide, before Jordan Henderson
opted for a cut-back that went to waste when the shot was on.
Samuel Eto'o soon had a better chance, his rising strike
headed for the top corner until Jones pushed it behind, but Anzhi looked there
for the taking until Traore's flash of brilliance.
Mbark Boussoufa's clip forward carried danger but this
was about two touches of real quality: a flick over the top of Sebastian Coates
and a sidefoot lob over the outrushing Jones.
Rodgers soon sent on the fresh legs of Suso and Dani
Pacheco, though departing teenagers Adam Morgan and Conor Coady displayed
plenty of endeavour, but Anzhi began to press higher up the pitch and Liverpool
struggled to craft real openings.
Traore prowled at the other end but lashed horriby wide
of an upright and then headed into Jones' hands from eight yards as Hiddink
glowered in the dugout.
Suso had added impetus and forced Vlad Gabulov to parry
late on but Joe Cole - disappointing again - saw his shot from an angle blocked
and the chance of parity probably undeserved had gone.
Rodrigo Palacio took his tally against FK Partizan to
three goals in two games as FC Internazionale Milano qualified for the UEFA
Europa League round of 32 with two games to spare.
Responsible for the late winner when the sides met a
fortnight ago, half-time substitute Palacio proved the scourge of Partizan
again with efforts on 51 and 75 minutes. Fredy Guarín added a third, and while
Nemanja Tomić broke the hosts' scoring duck in Group H in added time, the game
was long since up for the Serbian champions.
With FC Rubin Kazan having beaten Neftçi PFK earlier in
the evening, the Nerazzurri knew a point would be sufficient to qualify. Though
they would rubber-stamp their place with apparent ease, the outlook for Inter
might have been radically different were it not for Samir Handanovič.
While Nikola Petrović was underemployed before the break
– the closest Inter came was a shot from Guarín which whistled wide –
Handanovič rose to the occasion with two reflex saves, first getting down low
to scoop Ivan Ivanov's header around a post. From Tomić's ensuing corner, the
Slovenia No1 frustrated the same player with another acrobatic stop.
Handanovič came to the visitors' rescue once more four
minutes into the second half, though this time he knew little about it, keeping
the ball out after team-mate Juan had miscued while trying to clear Aleksandar
Miljković's low cross.
However, like he did at San Siro, Palacio broke Partizan
hearts. The Argentinian international had only been on the field five minutes
when he stooped to chest in Guarín's driven cross from the byline. A quarter of
an hour from time the same players combined again, Palacio running through and
rifling across Petrović.
In the meantime, Handanovič stood tall to block Stefan
Šćepović's near-post attempt and clawed away Milan Smiljanić's drive. Late on,
Guarín and Tomić exchanged goals. While Partizan and Neftçi are now out of the
running, Inter, after their tenth successive win, and Rubin go marching on.
Szabolcs Huszti's stoppage-time penalty gave Hannover 96
a narrow win over Helsingborgs IF, a result that sends the hosts into the UEFA
Europa League round of 32.
Two goals from Mame Diouf had put the Bundesliga side
into a commanding position, but Nikola Djurdić and Alejandro Bedoya restored
parity for Helsingborg. A draw looked the likely outcome until Huszti's strike
from 12 metres, which leaves the Swedish team on the brink of elimination.
Hannover started brightly, with Huszti and Diouf, who had
impressed in the first meeting between the sides, prominent. That pair combined
for the opener, a cross from the former allowing Diouf to nod home after just
three minutes. Diouf and Lars Stindl directed free headers over the bar from
further Huszti deliveries, but Mirko Slomka's men were rewarded for their
dominance when Diouf powered home a second soon after the interval.
Helsingborg reacted well, though, Djurdić pulling one
back with the third headed goal of the night after Mattias Lindström's pinpoint
cross. Nerves began to creep in for the home team and the visitors took full
advantage, drawing level through Bedoya, who hooked a shot past Ron-Robert
Zieler.
With time running out, Hannover substitute Artur Sobiech
was brought down by Peter Larsson, who was subsequently dismissed along with
Walid Atta. Pär Hansson got a hand to Huszti's spot kick, yet could not stop it
crossing the line, meaning Helsingborg face an uphill task to progress.
Edinson Cavani
scored four in a devastating display of finishing as SSC Napoli recovered from
2-1 down to defeat FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and dash the Ukrainian side's hopes
of securing early qualification in Group F.
With the hosts staring down the barrel at their first
continental home loss in 16 games, Napoli were thrown a lifeline when the
Uruguay striker delightfully curled in a free-kick after 77 minutes. The
25-year-old added two more in the closing stages, lifting Napoli up to second
in the section and to within three points of tonight's opponents.
Dnipro had not conceded in three games since defeating
the Azzurri on match day three, so it was perhaps a surprise when they fell
behind early on. The identity of Napoli's scorer, however, was not. Cavani, so
often the Serie A club's talisman, took receipt of Blerim Dzemaili's sumptuous
pass with the outside of his right foot and finished unerringly across Jan
Laštůvka.
With Gökhan Inler pulling the strings in midfield, Walter
Mazzarri's team twice came close to increasing their lead through Andrea
Dossena. Indeed, Dnipro were struggling to get a foothold, but they levelled
against the run of play courtesy of Artem Fedetskiy. A scorer against the
Partenopei two weeks ago, the 27-year-old turned the ball in from close range
after Michael Odibe had glanced on Olexandr Aliyev's corner.
Sixty seconds after Napoli's Federico Fernández headed
wide, Dnipro then took a 52nd-minute lead. Eduardo Vargas was dispossessed
inside his half, and that allowed Yevhen Konoplyanka to find Roman Zozulya, who
fired beyond Antonio Rosati.
Odibe poked wide following Ruslan Rotan's corner before
Fedetskiy threw himself in the way of Lorenzo Insigne's goal-bound effort.
Cavani, as he so often does, proved Napoli's saviour, delightfully bending in a
free-kick and completing his hat-trick by turning in Marek Hamšík's low ball
following an exquisite Insigne back-heel.
An added-time volley for his fourth – a record-equalling
feat for a UEFA Europa League fixture – capped a memorable night.
AIK registered their first victory in Group F thanks to
some determined defending and Mohamed Bangura's excellent 12th-minute finish.
An early Mohamed Bangura strike earned AIK victory over
PSV Eindhoven in UEFA Europa League Group F, a result that keeps alive the
Swedish side's hopes of qualification for the round of 32.
In a game of few chances at Råsundastadion, Bangura's
left-footed effort separated the teams. Despite PSV laying siege to the hosts'
goal in the closing stages, AIK held firm to record a much-needed win which
leaves them within two points of SSC Napoli, who moved up to second in the
section by defeating FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 4-2.
PSV made a bright start but struggled to convert
possession into clear-cut opportunities – a problem that would hinder the Dutch
club throughout the match. AIK marshalled the attacking trio of Dries Mertens,
Tim Matavž and Luciano Narsingh to good effect and stunned the visitors by
taking a 12th-minute lead, Bangura cutting in from the right and curling a
magnificent shot over the stretching Boy Waterman.
The goal seemed to breathe confidence into the
Allsvenskan outfit, who continued to defend diligently and threaten on the break.
It was AIK who carved out the best openings before the interval, Bangura
dragging wide when well placed and Celso Borges flashing a powerful cross-shot
across goal.
The second half followed a similar pattern, with PSV
unable to capitalise on long spells of dominance. They were almost caught cold
for a second time when Helgi Daníelsson's snapshot flew past Waterman, only for
the ball to clip the crossbar before rebounding to safety. PSV threw men
forward in search of an equaliser in the closing stages, but AIK hung on to
register a famous victory.
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