Aston Villa on Thursday secured their place in the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League with a 1-0 win at Fenerbahce, while Nottingham Forest slid to a costly defeat away to SC Braga.
Celtic blew a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Bologna and leave their qualification hopes hinging on next week’s final round of games as archrivals Rangers bowed out despite a first win of the competition.
Jadon Sancho’s header midway through the first half in Istanbul earned Villa a sixth victory in seven European games, clinching a spot in the top eight and allowing Unai Emery’s team to bypass the playoffs.
Photo: Reuters
Matty Cash struck the post in the second half and Villa held on as goalkeeper Marco Bizot produced a string of key saves with Fenerbahce pushing for an equalizer.
“I’m just happy to get my first goal for Aston Villa and to top it off with that, it’s a win,” said Sancho, who joined on loan from Manchester United in September last year. “Honestly, I know I can do a lot more. I’m very hard on myself in that aspect. It’s nice to have a manager that backs you and obviously believes in you. Again, every opportunity I get I’m going to try and do 100 percent and hopefully I can deliver goals more.”
Aston Villa are second in the standings on 18 points and only trail Olympique Lyonnais on goal-difference. Lyon won 1-0 at Swiss side BSC Young Boys with a goal from former Arsenal player Ainsley Maitland-Niles to ensure their spot in the last 16.
Forest face the prospect of going into the playoffs after a limp display in a 1-0 loss to Braga, who climbed up to fifth.
Morgan Gibbs-White had a penalty saved early in the second half, and Braga went straight down the other end and scored as Forest captain Ryan Yates bundled into his own net.
Forest’s woes were compounded when Elliot Anderson was sent off for dissent in stoppage-time.
“Very frustrating. One minute of madness. A game we never looked in trouble,” Forest head coach Sean Dyche told TNT Sports, with Braga not even managing a single shot on target.
“You might come away with a draw, but you shouldn’t really lose that game,” he said. “I don’t think they hardly had a real chance, then we had a goalmouth scramble and even that can’t go in.”
Celtic had to settle for a point at Bologna and sit 24th in the 36-team table, occupying the final playoff berth. The Scottish champions host winless Utrecht in their final game on Thursday next week.
Martin O’Neill’s side led through Reo Hatate’s early strike in Italy, but the Japan international was sent off for a second booking on 34 minutes.
Defender Auston Trusty doubled Celtic’s advantage before halftime, but Bologna fought their way back with goals from Thijs Dallings and Jonathan Rowe.
“We’ve given ourselves a chance — that’s all, a chance — of qualifying, and from that viewpoint, I’m delighted,” O’Neill said.
“My own view is that if we had stayed with 11 men, I think we would have won the game,” he said.
Rangers were eliminated despite their 1-0 victory over Ludogorets Razgrad at Ibrox, where Mohamed Diomande grabbed the only goal.
SC Freiburg and Midtjylland are both on the cusp of a last-16 spot, with AS Roma well placed to join them after a 2-0 victory over VfB Stuttgart — their fourth in a row in the Europa League.
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
James Harden on Friday scored 31 points and came up big in overtime to help the Los Angeles Clippers erase a double-digit deficit on the way to a 121-117 NBA victory over the Toronto Raptors. Harden scored 16 points in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Clippers pushed their wining steak to five games despite the absence of star Kawhi Leonard with a sprained right ankle. The Clippers trailed by 11 entering the fourth quarter, but Harden drilled a pair of free-throws with 1:24 left in regulation to tie it and after misses from both teams, they went to
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
RSS