Tottenham proved themselves capable of coping without Harry Kane as they sailed into the last 16 of the Europa League with a 3-0 win over Fiorentina, last night.
Ryan Mason gave Spurs the lead with a composed finish in the first half and Erik Lamela made it two before a Gonzalo Rodriguez own goal completed a 4-1 victory on aggregate.
The only blemish on another fine night for Mauricio Pochettino’s men saw Dele Alli pick up his third yellow card of the competition, which means the 19-year-old is banned for the first leg of the next round.
Napoli’s run in the competition came to an end yesterday as they could only manage a 1-1 draw against Villarreal at the Stadio San Paolo to bow out 2-1 on aggregate.
Marek Hamsik scored for the hosts in the 17th minute to level the tie, but Tomas Pina’s fortunate goal on the hour mark put the Spanish side through.
Pina sent in a cross from the corner of the 18-yard box that sailed into the opposite corner.
Five-times European champions Liverpool were made to sweat before reaching the last 16, with an early penalty securing a 1-0 second-leg victory over Augsburg at Anfield.
Having played out a goalless draw in the first leg, Juergen Klopp’s side spurned several chances after James Milner’s early spot kick and survived a nervy finale to progress.
There was no such tension for Gary Neville’s Valencia whose recent upturn in form continued with a 4-0 win at Rapid Vienna to complete a 10-0 aggregate success, while Shakhtar Donetsk, Athletic Bilbao, Lazio and Bayer Leverkusen also progressed.
Shakhtar completed a superb 3-0 win at Schalke 04 to progress from the round of 32, while Bilbao’s Sabin Merino scored an 81st-minute equaliser as they drew 1-1 at home to Marseille and went through 2-1 on aggregate.
Lazio beat Galatasaray 3-1 in Italy with all four goals coming in 14 second-half minutes as Marco Parolo, Felipe Anderson and Miroslav Klose netted for the Serie A side, who went through 4-2 over the two legs.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Karim Bellarabi again proved decisive in their tie with Sporting Lisbon as the Germany international, who scored the winner in the first leg, netted two more in a 3-1 win that secured a 4-1 aggregate success.
Marcus Rashford was the unlikely hero in Manchester United’s do-or-die clash with FC Midtjylland, marking an unexpected debut with a dream brace that saw Louis van Gaal’s men through a tricky Europa League tie.
Rashford is likely to be the cover star next time, though, having been thrust into the spotlight following Anthony Martial’s warm-up injury and netting twice as United overcame a first-leg defeat and first-half Midtjylland goal to win 5-1 on the night and 6-3 on aggregate.