Arsenal under pressure as Premier League title race heats up
Arsenal enter the Premier League weekend clinging to a four‑point lead at the summit, their title advantage reduced after a damaging 3–2 home defeat to Manchester United last Sunday that has raised all-too-familiar fears, Reuters reported.
That result, combined with recent draws against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool, has allowed both Manchester City and Aston Villa to close in during a critical stretch of the campaign leading to questions about whether Mikel Arteta's perennial runners-up might be headed for another collapse.
The Gunners travel to Elland Road on Saturday to face a Leeds United side who have steadily strengthened their survival credentials. Leeds sit 16th but have suffered only two home league defeats all season and are unbeaten in five at Elland Road, scoring in 10 of 11 home games, according to Reuters.
List of teams qualified for the Europa League knockout phase
List of teams which have qualified for the next round of the Europa League after the league phase concluded on Thursday, ranked by table position:
Directly to round of 16:
1. Olympique Lyonnais (France)
2. Aston Villa (England)
3. Midtjylland (Denmark)
4. Real Betis (Spain)
5. Porto (Portugal)
6. Braga (Portugal)
7. Freiburg (Germany)
8. AS Roma (Italy)
Knockout phase play-off places (seeded)
9. Genk (Belgium)
10. Bologna (Italy)
11. VfB Stuttgart (Germany)
12. Ferencvaros (Hungary)
13. Nottingham Forest (England)
14. Viktoria Plzen (Czech Republic)
15. Red Star Belgrade (Serbia)
16. Celta Vigo (Spain)
Knockout phase play-off places (unseeded)
17. PAOK (Greece)
18. Lille (France)
19. Fenerbahce (Turkey)
20. Panathinaikos (Greece)
21. Celtic (Scotland)
22. Ludogorets (Bulgaria)
23. Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia)
24. SK Brann (Norway)
Inter Milan beat Dortmund 2-0 but both teams end up in playoffs
Inter Milan scored late goals to earn a 2-0 win at Borussia Dortmund in their final Champions League group phase match on Wednesday but it was not enough for a top-eight finish, with both teams going into the playoffs for a knockout stage spot, Reuters reported.
Federico Dimarco curled home a sublime free kick in the 81st minute before Andy Diouf added another goal in stoppage time to snap Inter's three-game losing run in the competition.
Despite hopes before the game of a top-eight spot and automatic progress to the last-16, Inter came 10th on 15 points, according to Reuters.
Goalkeeper scores at death to keep Benfica in Champions League with 4-2 win over Real Madrid
Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin scored an astonishing 98th-minute header as Benfica beat Real Madrid 4-2 on Wednesday to keep themselves in the Champions League and deny their illustrious opponents an automatic spot in the last 16, Reuters reported.
In an extraordinary finale, the Portuguese side were heading out despite leading 3-2 with seconds of stoppage time remaining before Trubin came forward for a free kick to score the goal needed to sneak into the playoff round on goal difference.
That sparked wild celebrations from Benfica players, fans and their charismatic coach Jose Mourinho - a former manager of Real Madrid - at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, according to Reuters.
