Milan survives big Europa fright, surprise loss for Sevilla

AC Milan was given a helping hand by two own goals as it survived a big scare before beating Dudelange of Luxembourg 5-2 in the Europa League on Thursday.

The seven-time European Cup winner trailed 2-1 midway through the second half, but came storming back with four goals in the last 24 minutes of the Group F tie.

Sevilla, which has eclipsed Barcelona and Real Madrid so far this season to lead the way in the Spanish league, suffered a surprise 1-0 loss at Standard Liege in Group J after a 62nd-minute strike from Moussa Djenepo. To make matters worse for the visitors, they had Pablo Sarabia sent off six minutes later.

Krasnodar is top of the section with 12 points from five matches after beating Akhisar 2-1. Sevilla and Standard are three behind.

Salzburg clinched a place in the knockout stage with a 1-0 win over Leipzig in Group B, while Zenit defeated Copenhagen by the same score to go through from Group C.

Real Betis also progressed in Group F after a 1-0 home victory over Olympiacos. Dynamo Kiev went through with a 1-0 triumph at Astana in Group K, and was joined in the last 32 by Fenerbahce after it drew 0-0 with Dinamo Zagreb in Group D.

Seven clubs, including Arsenal and Chelsea, had already qualified for the knockout stage.

Chelsea made it five straight wins in Group L with a 4-0 rout of 10-man PAOK. Olivier Giroud scored twice and there was also one goal for Alvaro Morata, but the star of the show was Callum Hudson-Odoi. The young winger, who turned 18 earlier this month, grabbed his first goal for the club, provided an assist for Morata and hit the crossbar with a long-range drive.

Arsenal secured top spot in Group E with a 3-0 victory at Vorskla on Thursday, a game that was switched from Poltava to Kiev because of political tension between Ukraine and Russia.

Organizer UEFA ordered the game to be moved to the capital city after Ukraine imposed martial law in some regions of the country.

Sporting thrashed Qarabag 6-1 to finish second behind Arsenal in the group.

Here’s a look at Thursday’s action:

MILAN FIGHTBACK

Patrick Cutrone gave Milan a 1-0 lead before Dudelange hit back with a right-foot shot high into the net from Dominik Stolz and a strike by Dave Turpel.

The Italian heavyweight leveled with an own goal from Stelvio Rosa da Cruz in the 66th minute and four minutes later Hakan Calhanoglu made it 3-2.

Tom Schnell also put through his own net with 13 minutes to go before substitute Fabio Borini finished off Dudelange.

Milan has 10 points from five games in Group F, one behind Betis which made the knockout stage for the first time since 2014 thanks to its win over Olympiacos (seven points). Dudelange is bottom with zero points.

SPORTING CRUISE

Two goals from Bruno Fernandes and Abdoulay Diaby, and one apiece from Bas Dost (penalty) and Nani led Sporting to its comfortable win at Qarabag.

At the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, a second-string Arsenal team eased past Vorskla with goals from Emile Smith Rowe, Aaron Ramsey (penalty) and Joe Willock

Arsenal tops Group E with 13 points, three ahead of Sporting.

RED CARD

Greek side PAOK was in trouble at Chelsea from the moment defender Yevhen Khacheridi was sent off for a professional foul on Giroud in the seventh minute at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s victory put the London club on 15 points. BATE Borisov shares second place with Vidi on six points after defeating the Hungarian team 2-0.

OTHER GROUPS

Benjamin Verbic scored in the first half as Kiev topped Group K with 11 points. Astana is second on eight points, two more than Rennes, which defeated Jablonec 1-0.

In Group G, Mert Muldur and Philipp Schobesberger netted in the last 10 minutes to guide Rapid Vienna to a 2-1 win at Spartak Moscow that kept the Austrian team’s hopes alive.

A fan ran on to the pitch when Spartak was leading and appeared to confront captain Denis Glushakov. Many Spartak supporters have accused Glushakov of helping to force out former coach Massimo Carrera, a fan favorite, last month.

The supporter was led off the field by home goalkeeper Artyom Rebrov and security staff. Vienna leads the group with seven points. Moscow has five, the same as Rangers, which faces second-place Villarreal later on Thursday.

Rangers had Daniel Candeias sent off just before halftime as it drew 0-0 at home to Villarreal. Rapid and Villarreal top the section with seven points, one ahead of Rangers and two in front of Spartak.

In Group I, Alejandro Pozuelo and Joseph Paintsil put Genk 2-0 up before Malmo hit back to force a 2-2 draw with goals from Oscar Lewicki and Marcus Antonsson.

A double blast from Jeremain Lens and a goal by Vagner Love helped Besiktas rally from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Sarpsborg and climb to second on seven points, one behind Genk. Malmo has six points and Sarpsborg five.

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