Arsenal and Chelsea were among seven teams to reach the Europa League knockout stage on Thursday, while last year’s runners-up Olympique de Marseille were eliminated in the group phase.
The two Premier League teams were joined by Eintracht Frankfurt, Lazio, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, FC Zurich and Dinamo Zagreb in the last 32 with two games still to play before the draw for the next round in Nyon, Switzerland, on Dec. 17.
Arsenal qualified with a 0-0 draw against Sporting at Emirates, although striker Danny Welbeck was carried off on a stretcher in the first half with a serious ankle injury.
Photo: EPA
Chelsea won 1-0 at BATE Borisov in one of the early kickoffs.
A heavily changed Arsenal side were unable to break down dogged Sporting, who were reduced to 10 men in the 88th minute when defender Jeremy Mathieu fouled striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as he raced toward the area.
However, the point was enough to guarantee them a place in the last 32 atop Group E on 10 points, with Sporting behind on seven.
Welbeck was taken off on a stretcher and given oxygen in the 25th minute after landing awkwardly when jumping for a header only hours after being named in the England squad for their next internationals.
Earlier, Chelsea striker Giroud got his first goal this season in the second half to secure a win at BATE, meaning Maurizio Sarri’s side have qualified from Group L.
“I think the first target in this competition was to qualify and now the second target is to win our group, so I think we need one more point,” the Italian coach said. “It’s very important because then we can talk again about this competition in February, when we will have another target.”
Chelsea have yet to lose under Sarri so far this season.
Marseille were dumped out when they lost 2-1 at Lazio in Group H. Goals from Marco Parolo and Joaquin Correa were enough to extend a miserable run for the French side, who have now lost four games in a row in all competitions.
Lazio, meanwhile, went through along with Eintracht, who eliminated Apollon Limassol with a 3-2 victory.
Leverkusen joined both teams in the next stage after beating FC Zurich 1-0 at home in Group A, but thanks to Ludogorets 0-0 draw with AEK Larnaca, the Swiss side also progressed.
Dinamo Zagreb beat Spartak Trnava 3-1 to qualify from Group D, while Anderlecht were eliminated after their 2-0 defeat by Fenerbahce.
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