Napoli, Real Sociedad advance in Europa League

The result meant Napoli finished top of Group F, while Sociedad edged ahead of AZ Alkmaar into second

Naples: Napoli and Real Sociedad both advanced from a tightly contested Europa League group after a 1-1 draw on Thursday, with Willian José netting a crucial equalizer for the Spanish team in the 90th minute.

The result meant Napoli finished top of Group F, while Sociedad edged ahead of AZ Alkmaar into second. Alkmaar would have advanced with a win but lost 2-1 at already eliminated Rijelka. Swiss club Young Boys also advanced with a 2-1 comeback win over Cluj after a wild finish that saw two goals and three red cards in injury time.

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Norway’s Molde also made the round of 32 after a 2-2 draw with Rapid Vienna in the final round of group-stage matches. Wolfsberg and Maccabi Tel-Aviv took the final two spots in the knockout rounds. Premier League leader Tottenham blanked Royal Antwerp 2-0 to finish top in its group.

Already qualified with two games to spare, Arsenal made it six wins from six with a 4-2 away victory at Dundalk. The match between Group I winner Villarreal and last-place Qarabag was postponed after several players from the Kazakh club tested positive for the coronavirus. It was unclear whether the game would be rescheduled or whether UEFA would award a forfeit win to Villarreal.

A total of 18 clubs were already through ahead of the final games while eight more teams, including Manchester United, dropped into the last 32 as third-place finishers in their Champions League groups. The draw for the round of 32 is scheduled for Monday.

A minute of silence was observed at the stadiums to honor Italian soccer great Paolo Rossi, who died after a long illness at the age of 64.

Napoli only needed a draw at home against Sociedad and went 1-0 up after Piotr Zielinski netted from the edge of the area with a right-foot shot after the visitors failed to clear a corner kick. Sociedad looked to be going out but a cross into the area in injury time fell to Willian José, and he blasted a shot high into the net to send his team through. Napoli finished with 11 points, two more than Sociedad. Alkmaar had eight.

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