GettyImagesAndre Villas-Boas had reason to smile again as Spurs took all three points on an icy night in Norway.
Tottenham and Andre Villas-Boas bounced back from last weekend’s humiliation at Manchester City with a Europa League win over Tromso deep inside the Arctic Circle.
Vlad Chiriches and Mousa Dembele both scored their first goals of the season to seal a 2-0 triumph that confirms Tottenham as winners of Group K with one match to spare.
Anzhi Makhachkala put their domestic troubles behind them as they advanced to the knockout stages thanks to a 1-1 draw against FC Sheriff.
Ismail Isa had put the Moldovans ahead following a smart move but Alexandru Epureanu equalised from a corner to ensure Anzhi’s qualification behind Spurs.
A controversial offside decision means Swansea’s quest to secure a place in the knockout stages will go down to the wire after a 1-0 defeat to Valencia at the Liberty Stadium.
A draw would have been enough to take Swansea through from Group A with a game to spare, but they fell behind to Daniel Parejo’s 20th-minute strike and then lost striker Wilfried Bony to a worrying hamstring injury.
They thought Alvaro Vazquez had levelled just before the break when Diego Alves could not hold Jonjo Shelvey’s shot and the Spaniard tapped in, but the flag went up despite replays suggesting the two Swansea players were onside. If the goal had stood, it would have been enough to seal a spot in the last 32, but instead Swansea must wait until their final game against St Gallen to discover their fate.
Kuban Krasnodar claimed their first win in Group A in style as they swept aside St Gallen 4-0. Lorenzo Melgarejo was on target twice, opening the scoring in the third minute and getting the third 18 minutes from time.
Fiorentina were held to a goalless draw at Pacos Ferreira in a low-key Group E encounter. The Viola, having already assured themselves a place in the last 32 of the competition after four wins from four group games, left out their top stars for the encounter in Portugal.
The closest either side came to scoring was in the 86th minute when Fiorentina goalkeeper Gustavo Munua was forced to fully stretch to clear Manuel Vieira’s stinging drive from 30 yards.
Roman Zozulya scored one and created the other three to inspire Dnipro to a 4-1 win at home to Pandurii Targu-Jiu. The Ukraine international teed up Nikola Kalinic for the opener after 12 minutes and netted the second himself early in the second half.
Eric Pereira pulled one back with a penalty, but Zozulya had the final word as he laid on two more goals, for Yevgen Shakhov and Serhiy Kravchenko, late on. Dnipro were already through and Pandurii already out, but the hosts still had top spot in Group E to play for.
Real Betis saw Lyon leapfrog them to the top of Group I with a 1-0 win at Stade Gerland but both teams were able to celebrate a place in the last 32.
Substitute Bafetimbi Gomis finished off a good move to net the only goal of the game in the 66th minute as Lyon inflicted a first group defeat on Betis to move into first place.
However, third-placed Vitoria Guimaraes are now unable to pip Betis to second spot after being held to a goalless draw at Rijeka.
Lazio secured their place in the last 32 with a 2-0 win at Legia Warsaw. Brayan Perea put the Italians on their way in the 24th minute before Felipe Anderson doubled his team’s lead before the hour mark.
Legia proved no threat to the Romans, who secured their third win in the competition. The outcome allowed them to join Group J leaders Trabzonspor in the next round, the Turkish club downed Apollon Limassol 4-2 thanks to Olcan Adin’s hat-trick.
PAOK Salonika’s hopes of topping Group L were given a boost as they emerged from Kazhakstan with a 2-0 win over Shakhtyor Karagandy.
Huub Stevens’ side made the trip knowing qualification was in the can barring an unforseen meltdown, but armed with the knowledge they needed a win for the purposes of their battle for top spot with AZ Alkmaar, who stayed in the hunt with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Maccabi Haifa.
GettyImagesEstoril keeper Vagner da Silva thwarts Sevilla’s Victor Machin.
Sevilla were held to a 1-1 home draw by Estoril after dominating for the second successive Group H match, but they still managed to seal their berth in the last 32.
Kevin Gameiro’s early goal looked to have set Sevilla on their way to victory, but they were hit with a sucker-punch in stoppage time when Estoril, who had threatened only sporadically during the match, snatched an equaliser through Ruben Fernandes.
Freiburg survived a late scare at Slovan Liberec to secure an overdue first Group H victory with a 2-1 win that rekindled their fading dream of reaching the knockout stages. Matthias Ginter gave them hope in the 23rd minute and Francis Coquelin settled their nerves with a second goal in the final 20 minutes before Sergiy Rybalka’s late strike.
Rubin Kazan were prevented from sealing their position as Group D winners as Maribor scored a late equaliser to secure a 1-1 draw that was enough for the Russian side to to confirm progression to the knockout stages.
Wigan Athletic’s hopes of progressing with Rubin were dealt a major blow with a 2-1 home defeat by Zulte Waregem, Junior Malanda’s 88th-minute winner meaning qualification is now out of Latics’ hands.
Genk qualified for the knockout stages as they moved four points clear at the top of Group G following a comfortable 3-1 victory over Dynamo Kiev.
Goals from Jelle Vossen, Bennard Kumordzi and Benjamin De Ceulaer, following Andriy Yarmolenko’s opener for Dynamo, saw Mario Been’s Belgian side remain top of the group with 11 points ahead of their final group clash at FC Thun, who lost 2-1 away to Rapid Vienna in a result that was the Austrians’ first win in Group G.
Vladislav Ignatiev netted the second in the 55th minute and Charles Kabore rounded off the rout at the death as Kuban moved above their opponents into third place in the pool on five points.
A late Martin Lanig goal gave Eintracht Frankfurt a 1-0 win over Group F rivals Bordeaux and secured progression into the knockout stages. The German side have only lost once so far in the group and will go through as group winners after Maccabi Tel-Aviv could only draw 0-0 against APOEL in Nicosia.
Ludogorets secured top spot in Group B as they claimed a 2-0 win over 10-man PSV Eindhoven in Sofia. Roman Bezjak scored both goals for the home side, whose progress into the last 32 was already secure, while PSV’s misery was compounded by the dismissal of Jeffrey Bruma.
The Dutch side will battle Chornomorets in two weeks for a place in the last-32 after the Ukrainians came from behind to win 2-1 against Dinamo Zagreb.
Red Bull Salzburg made it five wins from five in Group C as Marco Meilinger’s first goal for the Austrian club secured a 1-0 victory at Elfsborg.
The 22-year-old midfielder was best placed to tuck home Christian Schwegler’s cross midway through the second half, keeping Salzburg three points clear in the race to top the standings.
They look certain to stay there unless the Esbjerg who beat Standard Liege 2-1 in the group’s other game, can pull off a free-scoring win at the Red Bull Arena in two weeks’ time.
More to follow…