Everton, Benfica through as Lazio crash out of Europa League

Everton and Benfica both confirmed their places in the knockout phase of the Europa League on Wednesday, but Lazio crashed out of European competition after losing 2-1 at Red Bull Salzburg.

Group I leaders Benfica won 2-1 at Belarusian side BATE Borisov to seal top spot in the group, with Everton making sure of second place by beating AEK Athens 1-0 in Greece.

Salzburg’s victory over Lazio sent the Austrian champions through as Group G winners and Lazio cannot catch second-placed Villarreal after the Spanish side won 2-0 at Levski Sofia.

Fenerbahce made sure of qualification by beating second-placed FC Twente 1-0 in Group H, while Moldova’s FC Sheriff Tiraspol remain in contention after a 1-1 draw at home to Steaua Bucharest ended the Romanians’ hopes.

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov gave Everton a sixth-minute lead in Athens, caressing the ball into the top-left corner from Jo’s clever through-ball, but the visitors had to make two changes within the first 15 minutes after Dan Gosling and Sylvain Distin were both forced off with injuries.

Distin’s withdrawal saw 17-year-old Shane Duffy come on for his first-team debut and he formed part of a strong rearguard action as Everton weathered heavy AEK pressure in the second half to complete their victory.

Javier Saviola and Fabio Coentrao were both on target for Portuguese giants Benfica, who are assured of the top berth in the group with one game remaining due to a superior head-to-head record against Everton.

Salzburg and Lazio exchanged chances in an ill-tempered first half at the Salzburg Stadium, with Eliseu and Stefano Mauri both going close for the visitors before Marc Janko put a header just wide at other end.

Nigerian defender Rabiu Afolabi gave Salzburg a 52nd-minute lead but Lazio drew level five minutes later through Pasquale Foggia, only for Somen Tchoyi to put the hosts back in front with 12 minutes to play and consign Davide Ballardini’s charges to an ignominious group-stage exit.

Italian international forward Giuseppe Rossi and Spain midfielder Marcos Senna were the scorers in Villarreal’s victory in Sofia.

La Liga’s 12th-placed side are guaranteed to finish second in their group despite being only three points ahead of Lazio with a game to play due to a better aggregate record against the Italians.

Teams from Groups A, B and C were in action later on Wednesday, with Group B’s top two Lille and Valencia meeting in Spain and Celtic fighting for their lives at home to surprise Group C leaders Hapoel Tel Aviv.

Groups D, E, F, J, K and L play their matchday five games on Thursday.

The top two teams from each of the 12 groups go through to the round of 32, where they will be joined by the third-placed teams from the Champions League group phase, which include five-time European champions Liverpool.