Lille pip Genoa to Last 32 berth

Lille beat Genoa to a place in the knockout phase of the Europa League with a clinical performance to defeat Slavia Prague 3-1 in their Group B encounter at the Metropole.

Yohan Cabaye opened the scoring after 25 minutes before Gervinho netted six minutes before half-time to put Lille firmly in control.

Stanislav Vicek gave Slavia hope when he found the target after 56 minutes but Ludovic Obraniak eased any lingering nerves when he converted 10 minutes from time.

The French Ligue 1 side needed to match or better Genoa's result against table-toppers Valencia, with the Serie A team eventually going down 2-1 to a last-minute winner.

Bruno put the Spanish side ahead on the stroke of half-time to give the Italians a mountain to climb, but Hernan Crespo equalised in the 51st minute to give them hope.

David Villa then grabbed the winner for Valencia in the final minute.

In Group A, Anderlecht qualified with a convincing 3-1 victory at Ajax to pip the Dutch side to top spot.

Heading to Holland in second place in the pool, two points clear of Dinamo Zagreb, Herman van Holsbeeck's side knew a draw would be good enough to see them advance.

But the Belgian outfit went one better thanks to goals from Romelu Lukaku (2) and Jonathan Legear. Urby Emanuelson grabbed a late consolation for the hosts.

Timisoara defeated Dinamo 2-1 in the group's other match.

The Croatians fell behind when Gheorghe Bucur opened the scoring for the hosts midway through the second period but parity was restored when Cristian Scutaru put through his own net inside the final 10 minutes. Dorin Goga hit the winner six minutes before time to hand the Romanians a first win.

Hapoel Tel Aviv beat Hamburg 1-0 to capture top spot in Group C and send the Germans into second place.

Both teams had already qualified but Samuel Yeboah's goal was enough to see the Israeli side through in first place.

Celtic and Rapid Vienna played out an entertaining 3-3 draw despite both sides having no chance of qualification.

A much-changed Hoops side found themselves three goals behind after only 19 minutes following goals from Nikica Jelavic (2) and Hamdi Salihi.

However, before the interval, Celtic striker Marc-Antoine Fortune scored to stem the tide.

The Frenchman scored a second in the 67th minute before Paul McGowan grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser.

Results and standings

Played yesterday
Group A: Ajax vs Anderlecht 1-3; D. Zagreb vs Timisoara 1-2.
Standings: Anderlecht, Ajax 11; D. Zagreb 6; Timisoara 5.

Group B: Lille vs S. Prague 3-1; Genoa vs Valencia 1-2.
Standings: Valencia 12; Lille 10; Genoa 7; S. Prague 3.

Group C: Hapoel vs Hamburg 1-0; R. Vienna vs Celtic 3-3.
Standings: Hapoel 12; Hamburg 10; Celtic 6; R. Vienna 5.

Group G: Lazio vs L. Sofia 0-1; Villareal vs Salzburg 0-1.
Standings: Salzburg 18; Villarreal 9; Lazio 6; L. Sofia 3.

Group H: S. Bucharest vs FC Twente 1-1; Fenerbahce vs S. Tiraspol 1-0.
Standings: Fenerbahce 15; Twente 8; S. Tiraspol 5; S. Bucharest 4.

Group I: Benfica vs AEK Athens 2-1; Everton vs B. Borisov 0-1.
Standings: Benfica 15; Everton 9; B. Borisov 7; AEK Athens 4.

Played on Wednesday
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; Partizan 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.