Review of Thursday nights Europa League

Review of Thursday nights Europa League

Werder Bremen booked their place in the last 32 of the Europa League and extended their unbeaten streak to 22 games with an emphatic 4-1 home triumph over Nacional.

Markus Rosenberg set Thomas Schaaf's side on their way to victory with two goals in three first-half minutes.

A 61st-minute strike from Ruben Micael made the hosts sweat, but Marcelo Moreno restored the two-goal cushion six minutes from time and then Marko Marin completed the rout in stoppage time.

Bremen qualify for the knockout stage along with Athletic Bilbao, who were 3-0 winners at Austria Vienna in a match marred by crowd disturbances.

Spain international Fernando Llorente put Athletic ahead in the 20th minute before Mikel San Jose smashed home the Basque side's second on the hour.

Soon after that goal the match was suspended for around 25 minutes following ugly disturbances in the stands at the Franz Horr Stadion.

When the players returned, Llorente grabbed a second to seal the victory.

Roma secured a place in the knockout stage as they came from behind to beat Basle 2-1 at the Stadio Olimpico.

Benjamin Huggel put the Swiss side ahead in the 18th minute, but Francesco Totti levelled from the penalty spot shortly after the half-hour mark after the Roma captain was held inside the area by Marcos Gelabert.

Mirko Vucinic struck the winner in the 59th minute to make sure the Italians progressed with a game to spare.

PSV Eindhoven also progressed, albeit in less than convincing fashion, as Tomas Repka's stoppage-time own goal earned them victory over Sparta Prague.

Fred Rutten's side had marginally the best of an uninspiring Group K clash in which the only real danger from both teams came from set-pieces or long-range shots.

And the winner when it came was in keeping with the game, Repka diverting Orlando Engelaar's header into the corner of his own net.

The win guaranteed the hosts top spot in the pool, moving them four points ahead of their opponents and FC Copenhagen with one game to play.

Martin Vingaard and Dame Ndoye fired the Danes to a comfortable 2-0 win at the Parken Stadium to dump CFR Cluj out.

Cluj went into the match needing a win under new manager Andrea Mandorlini to stay in the competition.

But Vingaard put Copenhagen ahead in the 37th minute and when Ndoye made it 2-0 two minutes before the break there looked to be no way back for the Romanians.

A last-minute equaliser from Argentinian defender Leandro Grimi guaranteed Sporting Lisbon's progression from Group D as group winners and left opponents Heerenveen's hopes hanging in the balance following the 1-1 draw at Estadio Jose Alvalade.

Oussama Assaidi's 47th-minute opener looked set to send the Dutch side into their final group match against also-rans FK Ventspils with their qualification destiny in their own hands.

But Grimi's strike coupled with Hertha Berlin's 1-0 win in Latvia means the Germans are two points clear going into their own final game at home to Sporting.

Raffael scored the only goal in the first half and was later sent off for two bookable offences.

Toulouse set up a crunch clash with Club Brugge in their final game by posting their second Group J win at the expense of Partizan Belgrade.

Daniel Braaten netted the only goal nine minutes into the second half to move TFC onto seven points, one behind Brugge who drew 0-0 at pool winners Shakhtar Donetsk.

The results mean the second team to advance to the last 32 alongside Shakhtar will be decided when Brugge and Toulouse meet in Belgium in a fortnight's time.

Brugge need only a draw to make it through to the last 32.

Galatasaray sealed first place in Group F as Mustafa Sarp's strike earned them a deserved 1-0 victory over Panathinaikos.

The Brazilian put through his own net early in the second half to leave the Greeks to head into their final pool game at home Dinamo Bucharest not yet assured of their place in the last 32.

Pana's fate is still very much in their own hands, however, as they have a three-point lead over the Romanians.

Marius Niculae scored twice as 10-man Dinamo Bucharest beat the group's bottom team Sturm Graz 2-1.

Dinamo goalkeeper Emilian Dolha saved a fourth-minute penalty from Samir Muratovic but could not prevent Mario Sonnleitner from giving the already-eliminated visitors the lead 60 seconds later.

However, Niculae equalised in the 41st minute and bagged the winner in the 57th, and the hosts held on despite the 43rd-minute dismissal of Laurentiu Rus.