European giants Valencia and Fiorentina, of Italy, left it late to seal their places in the knockout stages of the UEFA Europa League with two games to spare yesterday.
Late goals from Pablo Piatti and Sergio Canales helped the Spaniards come from behind to beat 10-man St Gallen 3-2 in Switzerland and guarantee progression from Group A.
Piatti had put Valencia ahead but Stephane Besle equalised and Goran Karanovic nudged St Gallen in front in the 66th minute despite Philippe Montandon’s minute sending-off 10 minutes earlier.
Valencia also went top of the group after an injury time equaliser from Ibrahima Balde gave Kuban Krasnodar a 1-1 draw with Swansea City in Russia, making the Welsh side – who led through a ninth minute Wilfried Bony strike – having to wait to qualify.
Fiorentina were trailing to Eric de Oliveira’s early goal in their Group E clash with Pandurii Targu Jiu in Romania but two goals in the last four minutes from Ryder Matos and Borja Valero proved enough to seal a 2-1 win for the Italians.
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk also booked their place in the knockout stages with a 2-0 win over Pacos de Ferreira in Ukraine.
Erik Lamela scored his first goal for Tottenham as the English side progressed to the knock-out stages after they beat Sheriff Tiraspol 2-1 at White Hart Lane.
Lamela, who joined Spurs from Roma in the summer, put the hosts ahead on the hour before Jermaine Defoe made it 2-0 from the penalty spot seven minutes later.
Tiraspol pulled a goal back three minutes from time through Ismail Isa.
Red Bull Salzburg confirmed their qualification from Group C, the Austrian Bundesliga leaders stretching their 100 per cent record in the group to four games with a 3-1 win at Standard Liege.
Dusan Svento and Kevin Kampl scored late in first half and after Paul-Jose M’Poku pulled one back, Alan made sure with a third goal after 58 minutes for the Austrians.
Danish side Esbjerg also qualified with 1-0 win over Elfsborg, Mick van Buren scoring only goal of the game after 71 minutes.
Bulgarians Ludogorets lost their 100 per cent record and conceded their first goal in Group B, but their 1-1 home draw with Chornomorets was enough for them to qualify.
Second-placed PSV closed the gap at the top to three points with a 2-0 home win over Dinamo Zagreb, the goals coming in each half from Adam Maher and Ola Toivonen.
Rubin Kazan have all but done enough in Group D after Oleg Kuzmin’s 22nd minute goal was enough to defeat Wigan Athletic in Russia.
Rubin Kazan now have a five point lead at the top of the group while Belgian side Zulte-Waregem gave themselves hope of snatching second place with a 1-0 win over Maribor in Slovenia.
Yesterday’s results...
Group A
Kuban vs Swansea 1-1; St Gallen vs Valencia 2-3.
Standings: Valencia 9; Swansea 8; St Gallen 3; Kuban 2.
Group B
Ludogorets vs Chornomorets Odesa 1-1; PSV vs D. Zagreb 2-0.
Standings: Ludogorets 10; PSV 7; Chornomorets 4; D. Zagreb 1.
Group C
Esbjerg vs Elfsborg 1-0; S. Liege vs Salzburg 1-3.
Standings: Salzburg 12; Esbjerg 9; Elfsborg, S. Liege 1.
Group D
Rubin Kazan vs Wigan 1-0; Maribor vs Z. Waregem 0-1.
Standings: Rubin 10; Wigan 5; Z. Waregem 4; Maribor 3.
Group E
Dnipro vs Pacos 2-0; Pandurii vs Fiorentina 1-2.
Standings: Fiorentina 12; Dnipro 9; Pandurii, Pacos 1.
Group F
Apoel vs Bordeaux 2-1; M. Tel Aviv vs E. Frankfurt 4-2.
Standings: E. Frankfurt 9; M. Tel Aviv 7;Apoel 4; Bordeaux 3.
Group G
R. Vienna vs Genk 2-2; Thun vs D. Kiev 0-2.
Standings: Genk 8; D. Kiev 7; Thun, R. Vienna 3.
Group H
Sevilla vs S. Liberec 1-1; Estoril vs Freiburg 0-0.
Standings: Sevilla 8; S. Liberec 6; Freiburg 3; Estoril 2.
Group I
Rijeka vs Lyon 1-1; Guimaraes vs R. Betis 0-1.
Standings: R. Betis 8; Lyon 6; Guimaraes 4; Rijeka 2.
Group J
L. Warsaw vs Trabzonspor 0-2; Lazio vs Apollon 2-1.
Standings: Trabzonspor 10; Lazio 8; Apollon 4; L. Warsaw 0.
Group K
Tromso vs Anzhi 0-1; Tottenham vs Sheriff 2-1.
Standings: Tottenham 12; Anzhi 7; Sheriff 2; Tromso 1.
Group L
AZ Alkmaar vs S. Karagandy 1-0; M. Haifa vs PAOK 0-0.
Standings: PAOK, AZ Alkmaar 8; Karagandy, Maccabi Haifa 2.