After playing a draw in the first leg, Arsenal needed a late comeback to secure their place in the draw for the Europa League round of 16, where Ajax Amsterdam, Manchester United, AC Milan and Rangers will be joined. Meanwhile, Napoli and Leicester City crashed on Thursday.
Gabonese forward Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang with a header in the 87th minute secured Arsenal a 3-2 win over Benfica for a 4-3 aggregate victory.
After the first leg, played in Rome due to Covid-19 restrictions, it ended 1-1, Arsenal’s home game was played in Athens and everything seemed comfortable when Aubameyang scored early on.
However, Diogo Goncalvez hit a free kick for Portuguese giants Benfica just before halftime, and when a terrible mistake by Arsenal midfielder Dani Ceballos allowed Rafa Silva to put Benfica 2-1 ahead shortly after the hour, it seemed bleak for Arsenal.
Kieran Tierney shot home the equalizer before match star Aubameyang headed in from close range to seal a dramatic victory.
“It certainly keeps the season going, that’s for sure,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, whose team is ranked 11th in the Premier League. “Today would have been really hard after what had happened to both legs to get out.”
AC Milan topped Red Star Belgrade on away goals after their tie ended 3-3 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw at San Siro. Franck Kessie’s penalty kick gave Milan the lead, but the Red Star struck back through Ben Nabouhane and pressed hard at the end despite being reduced to 10 men.
Roma completed a 5-1 aggregate over Braga, while Manchester United also advanced after a 0-0 draw at home against Real Sociedad following a 4-0 win in the first leg.
ARCO NAPOLI
Former champion Napoli withdrew despite a 2-1 win at home to Spanish Granada.
Having lost the first leg 2-0, they got off to a perfect start when Piotr Zielinski put them ahead in the third minute.
But Ángel Montoro tied for Granada and while Fabián Ruiz scored again for the hosts in the hour, Granada held on for a 3-2 aggregate victory to prolong their impressive European debut.
Tottenham Hotspur had reached the round of 16 the night before, but Leicester City failed to convert the four English clubs in the draw as they lost 2-0 at home to Slavia Prague.
Goals from Lukas Provod and Abdallah Sima made for a great night for the Czechs who celebrated with a video call to former player Thomas Soucek, now at West Ham United.
“There is a fantastic euphoria right now,” Provod said.
“It was a tough game, but we never stopped believing that we would score a goal.”
Ajax beat French Lille 2-1 for a 4-2 aggregate victory, although it was a difficult test for the Dutch team who needed a late David Neres goal to calm their nerves.
The hopes of rivals PSV Eindhoven were dashed when they lost an exciting 5-4 draw on aggregate against Olympiacos, despite winning 2-1 on the night.
Eran Zahavi’s double appeared to send PSV through on goal on the road, but Ahmed Hassan shot on goal in the 88th minute to leave the hosts in despair.
Scottish Premier League leaders Rangers completed a stunning 9-5 aggregate victory over Belgian Antwerp thanks to a 5-2 win in Glasgow.
Villarreal did it with a 2-1 loss to Salzburg for a 4-1 aggregate victory, while Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev advanced against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Bruges respectively.
Norway’s Molde caused a surprise by winning 2-0 at Hoffenheim to close out a 5-3 aggregate win and Bayer Leverkusen suffered a 6-3 aggregate loss to Young Boys.
(With input from Reuters)
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