Europa League round-up: Napoli thrash Midtjylland to continue perfect start
Napoli continued to cut a swathe through the Europa League, blowing away Midtjylland 5-0 to qualify from Group D with two games to spare.
The Serie A side made it four wins in a row, and took their goals scored to 16 with efforts from Omar El Kaddouri, two from Manolo Gabbiadini, Christian Maggio and José Callejón.
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Rapid Vienna progressed to the knock-out stage from Group E after continuing their 100% record with a 2-1 win at Viktoria Plzen. Philipp Schobesberger scored both goals for the Austrians, with Jan Polenda having briefly equalised.
Roberto Soldado scored twice as Villarreal came from behind to take all three points with a 2-1 success at Dinamo Minsk, who have now lost all four.
Borussia Dortmund extended their club scoring record, netting for the 31st competitive game in a row. They were 4-0 winners over Qabala, with Marco Reus, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, a Sergei Zenjov own goaland Henrik Mkhitaryan completing the rout. Krasnodar defeated PAOK Salonika 2-1 to stay second behind Dortmund.
FC Sion remain top of their group after a 1-1 draw with Bordeaux. Thomas Meunier scored the only goal of the game as Club Brugge recorded their first win, at home to Legia Warsaw in Group D.
In Group F, Marseille denied Braga the chance to guarantee a place in the next round, Georges N’Koudou on target in a 1-0 triumph. Sergio Padt’s own goal gave Liberec the win over Groningen by the same scoreline.
The Group H rivals Besiktas and Lokomotiv Moscow drew 1-1, as did Qarabag and Monaco in Group J.
Schalke missed the chance to seal a spot in the next round, drawing 1-1 against Sparta Prague in Group K. Asteras Tripolis got their first win in the same group, 2-0 at home over Apoel Nicosia.
Two Group L games shared 11 goals, Athletic Bilbao and Augsburg firmly on the goal trail. Iñaki Williams scored the first two in Athletic’s 5-1 win over Partizan Belgrade, while Aritz Aduriz added his 100th career goal for the club. Augsburg thrashed AZ Alkmaar 4-1, with Raul Bobadilla netting a hat-trick.
Marc Janko and Breel Embolo hit the target as Group I pace-setters Basel made it nine points from 12 with a 2-0 victory over Belenenses. Fiorentina jumped from fourth to second as Josip Ilicic scored both in a 2-0 away win at Lech Poznan.
The Group H leaders Lokomotiv Moscow were held 1-1 at Besiktas and Sporting Lisbon went down 3-0 at Skenderbeu after a first-half red card for Rui Patricio.
Lazio and St Etienne strengthened their hold on the top two spots in Group G, Filip Djordjevic with both in the Italians’ 2-0 win over visiting Dnipro and the Ligue 1 outfit with a 3-0 defeat of Rosenborg.
Ajax and Fenerbahce drew 0-0 in Group A.