Newcomer Wolves advances in EL; Arsenal, United beaten

Eintracht cut Arsenal’s lead atop Group F to a point, with Standard Liege three points back after drawing 1-1 with Vitoria.

Newcomer Wolverhampton Wanderers and Braga both progressed with a game in hand after the two sides drew 3-3.

Wolfsburg, Gent, Alkmaar, Sporting, LASK and APOEL also all secured a spot in the next round.

Borussia Mönchengladbach and Roma closed in on advancement after away wins while Lazio remained in contention.

Manchester United had already qualified and could afford to field a youthful team against Astana, which came from behind to win 2-1 after benefiting from an own goal in the second half.

Here’s a look at Thursday’s games:

YOUTHFUL UNITED

United defender Di’Shon Bernard, one of three teenagers who made their senior debut for the English team, deflected a shot by Antonio Rukavina into his own net in the 62nd for what proved to be the winning goal in Astana.

It was the first loss of the Europa League campaign for United, which had already secured a spot in the knockout stage and leads Group L with 10 points.

Astana is last despite earning its first three points.

Jesse Lingard marked his first game as United captain with a low shot from outside the area for his first goal of the season 10 minutes into the game, which was played on an artificial surface.

Dmitri Shomko equalized for Astana in the 55th, the first goal United had conceded in the campaign, just seconds after another teenager, Tahith Chong, failed to hit an open net from close range at the other end.

Ethan Laird and Dylan Levitt also made their first start in a United team that had an average age of 21.6 years, including 36-year-old goalkeeper Lee Grant.

WOLVES THROUGH

Wolves was 1-0 down in the sixth minute, then led 3-1 just 30 minutes later amid heavy rain — only to allow a comeback in the second half but stormed back still in the first half. Raul Jimenez, Matt Doherty and Adama Traore scored for Wolves, before second-half goals from Paulinho and Fransérgio salvaged a draw for the hosts.

INTO NEXT ROUND

A goalless draw at Saint-Etienne was enough for Gent to advance from Group I. Canadian international forward Jonathan David started for Gent and played 80 minutes.

Wolfsburg joins the Belgian club after a 1-0 win at Oleksandriya.

AZ Alkmaar was held to a 2-2 home draw by Partizan, a result that still sent the Dutch team through to the next stage from Group L together with Man United.

APOEL won 2-0 at Dudelange to make the next stage as runner-up in Group A. Sevilla had already clinched first place and maintained its perfect record with a 2-0 win over Qarabag.

Sporting beat PSV Eindhoven to also clinch a berth in the next round from Group D, with LASK also advancing after a 2-1 win at Rosenborg.

OTHER GROUPS

Krasnodar boosted its hopes of advancing from Group C by beating already qualified Basel 1-0. The Russian side is tied for second on nine points with Getafe, which won 1-0 at Trabzonspor.

Borussia Mönchengladbach is tied atop Group J with Roma on eight points. The Bundesliga leader won 1-0 at Wolfsberg while Roma beat Istanbul Basaksehir 3-0.

In a tightly contested Group G, Rangers drew 2-2 at Feyenoord to keep first place with eight points. Canada captain Scott Arfield came off the bench for Rangers in the 77th minute.

Porto beat Young Boys 2-1 to put both teams on seven points.

Lazio beat Cluj 1-0 to keep its chances of advancing from Group E alive.

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports

Karel Janicek, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

Newcomer Wolves advances in EL; Arsenal, United beaten

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