Atletico Madrid’s dreams of defending their Europa League title died on a snowy pitch in western Germany yesterday, as they crashed out of the competition following a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen.
Atletico, who defeated Fulham in last season’s final in May, had to better Aris Salonika’s result at home to Rosenborg to progress from Group B and their hopes were ultimately dashed by a 2-0 win for the Greek side.
Nevertheless, Atletico took to the pitch at the BayArena knowing that only victory would give them any chance of reaching the last 32.
A snow-splattered playing surface, necessitating a bright pink ball, made for a sloppy game but it was the hosts who went ahead when Patrick Helmes drove home after racing onto a flick-on in the 69th minute.
The visitors responded quickly, Fran Merida placing the ball inside the left-hand post barely three minutes later, but Aris’s triumph at home to the group’s bottom side rendered Atletico’s result redundant.
French league leaders Lille booked their place in the knockout phase with a 3-0 win at home to qualification rivals Ghent amid similarly chilly conditions in northern France.
Needing to win to go through behind Sporting Lisbon in Group C, Lille took the lead in the 30th minute when Ludovic Obraniak seized on a loose back-pass before rounding the goalkeeper and tapping home.
More effective pressing of the opposition defence allowed Pierre-Alain Frau to squeeze home Lille’s second in the second half, before Moussa Sow rounded off victory in the 89th minute.
In Group A, Manchester City made sure of top spot by drawing 1-1 with Juventus in Turin.
Niccolo Giannetti, on his first start for the club at the age of 19, prodded Juve in front two minutes prior to the break, before Brazilian striker Jo levelled with a tidy finish 13 minutes from time.
It meant that the Italian giants, who had already been eliminated, ended the group phase with six draws from six matches – only the second team to do so in a UEFA competition after AEK Athens in the 2002-03 Champions League.
Polish side Lech Poznan, who went through with City, signed off their group campaign with a 1-0 win at Red Bull Salzburg.
Belgian side Anderlecht grabbed the last place in the knock-out stage when they beat Hajduk Split 2-0 to finish second in Group G behind runaway leaders Zenit SP.
Results and standings
Group A
Juventus vs Manchester City - 1-1
FC Salzburg vs Lech Poznan - 0-1
Final standings: Manchester City, Lech Poznan 11; Juventus 6; Salzburg 2.
Group B
Aris Salonika vs Rosenborg - 2-0
B. Leverkusen vs A. Madrid - 1-1
Final standings: B. Leverkusen 12; Aris Salonika 10; Atletico Madrid 8; Rosenborg 3.
Group C
Levski Sofia vs S. Lisbon - 1-0
Lille vs Gent - 3-0
Final standings: Sporting Lisbon 12; Lille 8; Gent, Levski Sofia 7.
Group G
AEK Athens vs Zenit SP - 0-3
Anderlecht vs Hajduk Split - 2-0
Final standings: Zenit St Petersburg 18; Anderlecht, AEK Athens 7; Hajduk Split 3.
Group H
Getafe vs Young Boys - 1-0
Stuttgart vs Odense - 5-1
Final standings: Stuttgart 15: Young Boys 9; Getafe 7; Odense 4.
Group I
Debrecen vs Sampdoria - 2-0
PSV Eindhoven vs FC Metalist - 0-0
Final standings: PSV 14; FC Metalist 11; Sampdoria 5; Debrecen 3.
Played on Wednesday
Group D
Club Brugge vs Villarreal - 1-2
D. Zagreb vs PAOK - 0-1
Final standings: Villarreal 12; PAOK 11; D. Zagreb 7; Club Brugge 3.
Group E
AZ Alkmaar vs BATE Borisov - 3-0
D. Kiev vs FC Sheriff Tiraspol - 0-0
Final standings: D. Kiev 11; BATE 10; AZ Alkmaar 7; FC Sheriff 5.
Group F
Lausanne vs Palermo - 0-1
S. Prague vs CSKA Moscow - 1-1
Final standings: CSKA Moscow 16; Sparta Prague 9; Palermo 7; Lausanne 1.
Group J
Karpaty Lviv vs Paris SG - 1-1
Sevilla vs B. Dortmund - 2-2
Final standings: Paris SG 12; Sevilla 10; Borussia Dortmund 9; Karpaty Lviv 1.
Group K
Liverpool vs FC Utrecht - 0-0
Napoli vs Steaua Bucharest - 1-0
Final standings: Liverpool 10; Napoli 7; S. Bucharest 6; FC Utrecht 5.
Group L
Besiktas vs Rapid Vienna - 2-0
Porto vs CSKA Sofia - 3-1
Final standings: Porto 16; Besiktas 13; R. Vienna, CSKA Sofia 3.