Fulham and Hertha Berlin advance to next round
Panathinaikos through with win over Dinamo Bucharest
Bobby Zamora and Bjorn Helge Riise twice combined to set Fulham on their way to a 3-2 win at snowy Basel yesterday, sealing the London club's place in the last 32 of the Europa League.
Hertha Berlin, in last place in the Bundesliga, also scraped through thanks to a 1-0 win at home to Group D winners Sporting and Panathinaikos, of Greece, secured second place in Group F when Djibril Cisse scored two in a 3-0 win over Dinamo Bucharest.
Zamora swept in his first from Riise's centre after 41 minutes of the Group E clash and doubled Fulham's lead four minutes later when he rose unmarked to nod in another fine cross from the Norwegian.
Alex Frei pulled a goal back for the home side from the penalty spot after Aaron Hughes handled in the area before Zoltan Gera netted Fulham's third on 77.
Marco Streller gave Basel hope when he headed home from a corner with three minutes remaining but Fulham held on.
Roma topped the group on 13 points after Alessio Cerci's double and a goal from teenager Filippo Scardina gave the Italians a 3-0 success at eliminated CSKA Sofia.
Fulham were second with 11 and Basel third on nine.
Bulgarian police arrested eight Italian fans before the match after around 60 caused trouble in a bar and clashed with officers.
"They threw chairs, beer bottles and ashtrays at us and no doubt some of them were drunk," a police officer told Reuters.
"They were very aggressive."
Hertha progressed thanks to Gojko Kacar's 70th minute goal against Sporting, sending out Heerenveen who thrashed Latvian side FK Ventspils 5-0.
Cisse struck twice in the final 10 minutes for Panathinaikos after Ante Rukavina's opener in the 54th minute.
In the late kick-offs, Werder Bremen sealed top spot in Group L after beating second-placed Athletic Bilbao 3-0 away and in Group K Denmark's Copenhagen joined PSV in the next round after a clear 3-0 victory away at Sparta Prague.
Ivan Perisic scored a late winner in Club Brugge's 1-0 over Toulouse to become the second team to qualify from Group J behind table-toppers Shakthar Donestk.
The top two from the 12 groups qualify for the knockout stages, where the third-placed teams from the eight Champions League groups will also feature.
Results and standings
Played yesterday
Group D: H. Berlin vs S. Lisbon 1-0; Heerenveen vs Ventspils 5-0.
Standings: S. Lisbon 11; H. Berlin 10; Heerenveen 8; Ventspils 3.
Group E: CSKA Sofia vs Roma 0-3; Basel vs Fulham 2-3.
Standings: Roma 13; Fulham 11; Basle 9; CSKA Sofia 1.
Group F: Panathinaikos vs D. Bucharest 3-0; Sturm Graz vs Galatasaray 1-0.
Standings: Galatasaray 13; Panathinaikos 12; D. Bucharest 6; S. Graz 4.
Group J: FC Bruges vs Toulouse 1-0; P. Belgrade vs S. Donetsk 1-0.
Standings: S. Donetsk 13; Club Bruges 11; Toulouse 7; P. Belgrade 3.
Group K: S. Prague vs Copenhagen 0-3; CFR Cluj vs PSV 0-3.
Standings: PSV 14; Copenhagen 10; S. Prague 7; CFR Cluj 3.
Group L: A. Bilbao vs W. Bremen 0-3; N. Madeira vs A. Vienna 5-1.
Standings: W. Bremen 16; A. Bilbao 10; N. Madeira 5; A. Vienna 2.
Playing today
Group A (19.00): Ajax vs Anderlecht; D. Zagreb vs Timisoara.
Standings: Ajax 11; Anderlecht 8; D. Zagreb 6; Timisoara 2.
Group B (19.00): Lille vs S. Prague; Genoa vs Valencia.
Standings: Valencia 9; Lille, Genoa 7; S. Prague 3.
Group C (19.00): Hapoel vs Hamburg; R. Vienna vs Celtic.
Standings: Hamburg 10; Hapoel 9; Celtic 5; R. Vienna 4.
Group G (21.05): Lazio vs L. Sofia; Villareal vs Salzburg.
Standings: Salzburg 15; Villarreal 9; Lazio 6; L. Sofia 0.
Group H (21.05): S. Bucharest vs FC Twente; Fenerbahce vs S. Tiraspol.
Standings: Fenerbahce 12; Twente 7; S. Tiraspol 5; S. Bucharest 3.
Group I (21.05): Benfica vs AEK Athens; Everton vs B. Borisov.
Standings: Benfica 12; Everton 9; B. Borisov, AEK Athens 4.