Europa League roundup: Villarreal qualify in Group A second place

Apollon Limassol succumbed to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Villarreal in Thursday evening's Europa League Group A clash at the Tsirion Stadium.

Two goals in the space of five minutes for the already-qualified Yellow Submarines, courtesy of Gerard Moreno and Luciano Dario Vietto, were enough to secure the victory.

Meanwhile, Borussia Monchengladbach secured first place in the group with a thumping 3-0 victory against FC Zurich, with Patrick Herrmann's strike and Branimir Hrgota's brace helping the German outfit pip Villarreal to the top of the table.

In Group B, things remained as they were prior to the final matchday, as both first-placed Club Brugge and second-placed Torino won their respective games.

The Belgian outfit nicked a 2-1 against HJK, with Lior Rafaelov netting in the 88th minute, while nine-man Copenhagen took the lead, only to then be pegged back before seeing Mikael Antonsson and Mathias Joergensen sent off. It was all one-way traffic thereafter, with the visitors scoring four more goals to secure a 5-1 victory.

Besiktas pipped Tottenham Hotspur to first place in Group C after the Turkish hosts secured a 1-0 win against Mauricio Pochettino's charges, while already-eliminated Asteras Tripolis and Partizan played out a goalless draw.

In Group D, first-placed Red Bull Salzburg thrashed Astra Giurgiu 5-1, while already-qualified Celtic found themselves on the receiving end of a 4-3 defeat away at Dinamo Zagreb.

Dinamo Moscow had won Group E before tonight's 1-0 win away to PSV, who had guaranteed second spot before kickoff. Aleksei Ionov scored the 90th-minute winner. Meanwhile, Panathinaikos and Estoril, both already eliminated, drew 1-1.

Finally, Group F saw Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk seal qualification with a 1-0 win at Saint-Etienne, pipping Qarabag FK to second place after the Kazakh outfit could only draw 0-0 with already-qualified Inter Milan.

Results in full: Apollon Limassol 0-2 Villarreal, Borussia Mönchengladbach 3-0 FC Zürich, Club Brugge 2-1 HJK Helsinki, Copenhagen 1-5 Torino, Besiktas 1-0 Tottenham, Partizan 0-0 Asteras, Dinamo Zagreb 4-3 Celtic, Red Bull Salzburg 5-1 Astra Giurgiu, Panathinaikos 1-1 Estoril Praia, PSV 0-1 Dinamo Moscow, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 1-0 St Etienne, FK Qarabag 0-0 Inter Milan