Europa league round up; Napoli fail to progress
Italian duo of AC Milan and AS Roma progressed to the knock out stages of the UEFA Europa League with a game to spare
Both teams played at home yesterday and interestingly also conceded first but won their games.
In Rome, Roma fell behind to Young Boys in the 34th minute through J. P. Nsame goal, but Borja Mayoral (44′) levelled the game for the host before two second half goals from R. Calafiori (59′) and Edin Dzeko (81′) ensured the boys from the capital gets the 3 points. With the victory, they will also finish as the group leader no matter what will be the outcome of their last game.
At the San Siro, Celtic lost a two-goal lead as AC Milan fought back to inflict the Scottish champions’ fourth Europa League defeat in five games.
Impressive finishes from Tom Rogic and Odsonne Edouard had struggling Celtic in control after 14 minutes following a vibrant start by Neil Lennon’s under-pressure side.
But by the 26th minute, Milan were level through Hakan Calhangolu’s free-kick and Samu Castillejo, before Jens Petter Hauge and Brahim Diaz put them into the last 32 with a game to spare.
Top seeds Celtic, who have just one point from five Group H matches, already knew they could not progress prior to kick-off, and have now won just twice in their last 11 games in all competitions.
Milan will hope for a favorable result in the last group match between Celtic and Lille while also win their game against Sparta Prague if they’re to finish as the group leader.
Meanwhile another Italian side, Napoli fail to secure their qualification for the next round but a point against Real Sociedad next week will guarantee them a place in the round of 32.
Some notable results of the match day 5
AC Milan 4-2 Celtic
Roma 3-1 BSC Young Boys
AZ Alkmaar 1-1 Napoli
Arsenal 4-1 Rapid Vienna
LASK 3-3 Tottenham Hotspur
Lille 2-1 Sparta Prague
Sivasspor 0-1 Villarreal
Real Sociedad 2-2 Rijeka
Red Star Belgrade 0-0 Hoffenheim
Nice 2-3 Bayer Leverkusen
Benfica 4-0 Lech Poznan
Feyenoord 0-2 Dinamo Zagreb
Granada 0-1 PSV Eindhoven
Zorya 1-0 Leicester City