EUROPA League
Ronaldo on target as Man Utd seal Europa League knockout spot
Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return to the starting lineup as they sealed a place in the Europa League knockout rounds with a 3-0 victory over Sheriff Tiraspol at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Ronaldo, who was left out of the squad for the weekend Premier League trip to Chelsea for disciplinary reasons, scored United’s third goal after Diogo Dalot and Marcus Rashford had given the home side a comfortable lead.
United are in second place in Group E with 12 points from five matches ahead of their visit to Real Sociedad in their final pool game next week, where victory could see them top the table and book a place straight into the last 16.
Erik ten Hag’s side never looked troubled against Moldovan outfit Sheriff and might have been out of sight by halftime after creating numerous chances but only had Dalot’s header from a Christian Eriksen corner just before the break to show for it
Defender Harry Maguire came on for the second half having missed the previous eight games with a hamstring injury as United doubled their lead when Rashford headed in Luke Shaw’s cross in the 65th. Ronaldo netted a late third from close range.
The group winners qualify for the last 16 while the eight runners-up will compete in February’s playoffs where they face the eight teams coming third in their Champions League groups
Sociedad defeated Omonia 2-0 thanks to goals from Robert Navarro and Brais Mendez, while Jose Mourinho’s AS Roma kept their knockout round hopes alive with a 2-1 win at HJK Helsinki in Group C after striker Tammy Abraham scored their opener.
They have seven points from five matches and lie in third place, needing to beat Ludogorets at home next week to stay in the competition.
PSV PROGRESS
Dutch side PSV Eindhoven had earlier advanced to the knockout stage following a 2-0 home win over Arsenal thaks to goals from Joey Veerman and Luuk De Jong.
The result ends Arsenal’s 100% start to Group A, though they had already sealed a place in the top two before the loss.
Ferencvaros are into the last 16 as Group H winners after a 1-1 draw with AS Monaco, who must win their final fixture at home to Red Star Belgrade to make sure of second place.
Ferencvaros have qualified for the post-Christmas stages of European competition for the first time since 1974-75.
Belgium’s Royale Union Saint-Gilloise were crowned Group D winners with a 2-0 victory at Malmo, while Bundesliga leaders Union Berlin beat visiting Portuguese side Braga 1-0 to move above their opponents into second place in the pool.
Lazio’s Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Pedro were on target as the Italians came from behind to beat Midtjylland 2-1, and were joined on eight points in Group F by Sturm Graz, who defeated Feyenoord 1-0 with a 93rd minute winner from Otar Kiteishvili.
Any of the four teams could still advance from that group.
-Reuters
Four-times Europa League winner Unai Emery booked an astonishing sixth final in the competition as a manager on Thursday when his Aston Villa team swept aside Nottingham Forest in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.
The 54-year-old Spaniard has won three times with Sevilla (2014, 2015, 2016) and once with Villarreal (2021) – either side of a defeat with Arsenal (2019) – deservedly earning him the epithet “Mr Europa League” from some fans and media.
Now he goes to the 2026 final seeking a fifth title, this time with Aston Villa against Bundesliga side Freiburg.
“His track record speaks for itself,” said Villa striker Ollie Watkins, heaping praise on his boss as the man to guarantee Europa League success. “We need to go and win it now.”
Emery was delighted with how his team overturned a 1-0 deficit to Forest in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final to score four times at home and win 4-1 on aggregate.
“Now we have to look to the final,” he said, hoping that Villa will do “something fantastic” for their fans.
Though thrilled at Thursday’s win, Emery left the pitch quickly after the final whistle, pumping his fist a few times at the crowd before letting his players enjoy the moment with fans
He and his Villa side will be favourites at the Europa League final in Istanbul on May 20, but Emery was taking nothing for granted. “Of course German teams are so difficult, their coaches, their players are so good,” he added of the upcoming opponents.
-Reuters
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List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to the round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
-Reuters
UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v RB Salzburg – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – January 29, 2026 Aston
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Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv will not accept any away fan tickets for their Europa League match at Aston Villa next month, even if local authorities reverse the decision to ban their supporters, they said on Monday.
The ban followed safety concerns raised by British Police, who cited potential protests outside Villa Park, following demonstrations at Israel’s recent World Cup qualifiers in Oslo and Udine.
“From hard lessons learned we have taken the decision to decline any allocation offered on behalf of away fans and our decision should be understood in that context,” Maccabi said in a statement.
“We hope that circumstances will change and look forward to being able to play in Birmingham in a sporting environment in the near future.”
Aston Villa announced the decision last week, saying they were following instructions from the Safety Advisory Group (SAG), who are responsible for issuing safety certificates for games at Villa Park.
West Midlands Police described the match as high risk, past incidents, including violent confrontations and hate crime offences involving Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters ahead of a November 2024 game in Amsterdam.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar described the announcement as “shameful”.
Villa are third in the Europa League standings while Maccabi Tel Aviv are 30th after two rounds.
-Reuters
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