Udinese kept their composure to reach the knockout phase of the UEFA Cup after their home tie with Dinamo Zagreb was briefly halted when fans of the Croatian team bombarded the pitch with burning flares yesterday.
The Serie A side progressed from Group D with a game to spare after a 2-1 win. They were joined by Ukrainian outsiders Metalist, Twente, Galatasaray and Standard Liege in booking a place in the Round of 32.
The match at the Friuli stadium was halted for nearly 10 minutes late in the second half, and the players taken to the dressing rooms, after Dinamo supporters threw flares on the pitch.
Udinese, whose Serie A form has deserted them in recent weeks, the early-season pacesetters have slipped to ninth after four consecutive defeats, were leading 1-0 at the time thanks to an early goal from Italy forward Fabio Quagliarella.
After the game was restarted, Nigerian Christian Obodo added a second for Udinese before Igor Biscan pulled a goal back in stoppage time.
Udinese have nine points from three matches followed by Tottenham Hotspur on six. NEC Nijmegen, Spartak Moscow and Dinamo have three, with the Croatians eliminated after completing their four games.
Visiting NEC scored two goals in the final six minutes to defeat Spartak 2-1 and keep their qualification hopes alive.
Tottenham will need a point from their final game at home to Spartak to guarantee qualification but six points should already be enough.
Only once since the group stage format was introduced in 2004-05 has six points not been enough to progress, with Rangers missing out that season.
A late goal against Olympiakos saw Metalist move on to seven points, meaning they are guaranteed to finish first or second in Group B, with Galatasaray's win at Hertha Berlin in the same section also sealing their place in the knockout stage.
In Group A, Twente can start preparing for UEFA Cup football in the spring after Steve McClaren's side finished 2-1 winners over a Schalke side coached by his predecessor at the Enschede club, Fred Rutten.
The top three in each of the eight groups advance to the knockout phase and will be joined in the last 32 by the eight clubs who finish third in the Champions League group stage.
The UEFA Cup final is in Istanbul on May 20.