Six sides booked their places in the knockout phase of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night, as matchday four provided plenty of exciting action.
The outcome in Group H is completely settled with both Inter Milan and Rubin Kazan qualifying with two games left to play.
Rodrigo Palacio scored twice in the second half as the 2010 Champions League winners won 3-1 away from home against Partizan Belgrade.
Fredy Guarin added a third in the closing stages and although Nemanja Tomic ended Partizan’s scoring drought in this group, their participation is over in regards to advancing into the last 32.
In Azerbaijan, Vladimir Dyadyun scored the only goal for Rubin Kazan as they recorded a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Nefcti.
With both Inter and Rubin on 10 points, it means both teams now only have to concentrate on battling it out for top spot.
Lyon show their class
In Group I, Lyon showed their class against Athletic Bilbao, winning 3-2 in Spain and virtually knocking out the 2011 finalists.
The French side stormed into a 2-0 lead, courtesy of goals from Bafetimbi Gomis and Yoann Gourcuff.
Bilbao have had a nightmare season so far but showed some fight and pulled the scoreline back to 2-2 thanks to efforts from Ander Herrera and Aritz Aduriz.
However, Alexandre Lacazette’s stunning finish ensured Lyon maintain their 100 per cent record in this group.
Sparta Prague require one more point to join Lyon in going through, after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Hapoel Kiryat-Shmona.
Group L always looked like being one of the most competitive groups on paper but Hannover 96 have shown their quality throughout.
The German side booked their place in the draw on 20 December after edging out Helsinborgs 3-2.
Former Manchester United strike Mame Diouf scored twice but it had to take a stoppage time penalty from Szabolcs Huszti to seal victory against the plucky Swedes.
Levante remain favourites to join Hannover in advancing from this group after they held Steve McClaren’s FC Twente to a goalless draw in Holland.
No problems for Leverkusen and Kharkiv
Four games in Group K have seen Bayer Leverkusen register four clean sheets.
They sealed their passage through with an emphatic 3-0 home victory over Rapid Vienna.
The goals arrived from Jens Hegeler, Andre Schurrle and Manuel Friedrich.
Former Liverpool legend Sami Hyypia is in charge at the Bay Arena and with a strong defence and promising attack, Leverkusen could be a dark horse to go all the way to Amsterdam.
Metalist Kharkiv were the sixth and final team to secure qualification on Thursday night after winning 3-1 at home to Rosenborg.
Taison scored an incredible volley in the second minute which has already been touted by some as the ‘goal of the century,’ up with the likes of Marco van Basten’s strike in the Euro 88 final for Holland.
Dnipro’s perfect record in Group F ended in Naples, as they lost 4-2 to Napoli.
Edinson Cavani (pictured) was in deadly form, scoring all four goals for the Serie A side and he is expecting to be celebrating more come the weekend, with his wife expecting their second child.
PSV Eindhoven slumped to the bottom of this congested group, after losing 1-0 to AIK Solna.
Elsewhere, there were also wins for Young Boys, Lazio, Academica, Bordeaux and FC Basle.
UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE MATCHDAY FOUR RESULTS
Thursday, 8 November
Group A: Anzhi 1-0 Liverpool
Group A: Udinese 2-3 Young Boys
Group B: Academica 2-0 Atletico Madrid
Group B: Viktoria Plzen 4-0 Hapoel Tel-Aviv
Group C: Marseille 2-2 Borussia Monchengladbach
Group C: Fenerbahce 2-0 AEL Limassol
Group D: Bordeaux 1-0 Maritimo
Group D: Club Brugge 2-2 Newcastle United
Group E: FC Copenhagen 0-2 VFB Stuttgart
Group E: Molde FK 1-2 Steaua Bucharest
Group F: Napoli 4-2 Dnipro
Group F: AIK Solna 1-0 PSV Eindhoven
Group G: Sporting Lisbon 1-1 KRC Genk
Group G: FC Basle 1-0 Videoton
Group H: Nefcti 0-1 Rubin Kazan
Group H: Partizan Belgrade 1-3 Inter Milan
Group I: Athletic Bilbao 2-3 Lyon
Group I: Hapoel Kiryat-Shmona 1-1 Sparta Prague
Group J: Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Maribor
Group J: Lazio 3-0 Panathinaikos
Group K: Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 Rapid Vienna
Group K: Metalist Kharkiv 3-1 Rosenborg
Group L: FC Twente 0-0 Levante
Group L: Hannover 96 3-2 Helsinborgs
By Simon Wright - Follow me on Twitter @Siwri88
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