Udinese 0:1 Liverpool
Liverpool had to win in order to qualify. Anzhi Makhachkala was leading the table with 10 points and Young Boys was still able to overtake Liverpool with a win. Brendan Rodgers started Luis Suarez in his first European away match. In the back, Rogers relied on Jamie Carragher and Martin Skrtel. Liverpool played an offensive match straight from the beginning and Suarez always creating chances upfront. However, the first chance had Udinese and Roberto Pereyra. His shot was tipped over the bar by Reina. It was Henderson in the 23rd minute who scored the lead for Liverpool. Henderson drilled the ball with a low finish through the legs of Daniele Padelli – 0:1 Liverpool. Glen Johnson had other big chance just seconds later but was offside. Suarez also came close before half-time with an overhead kick. Udinese was stronger in the second half and came close to the equalizer. However, Udinese lost Pasquale with a second booking and lost the momentum. Liverpool secured 3 important points and secured the top spot in Group A as the Young Boys beat Anzhi Makhachkala with 3:1.
Bordeaux 2:0 Newcastle
Both teams already qualified for the knockout stage. Newcastle was still unbeaten in this year’s Europa League campaign and wanted to finish 2012 on top of the table. Alan Pardew, however, rested most players for the game on Monday night against Fulham at the Craven Cottage. Bordeaux played much better straight from the beginning and Newcastle failed to create serious chances. In the 29th minute, Cheick Diabate scored the lead for the host after he rose above James Perch to head the 1:0 lead for Bordeaux. Diabate scored the second of the night in the 72nd minute. Newcastle finished second in the table with 9 points and Bordeaux ahead of them.
Tottenham 3:1 Panathinaikos
Spurs only needed a draw to advance to the next knockout stage. Panathinaikos, on he other side, had to win in order to qualify for the next round. Gareth Bale missed the game because of an injury. Adebayor opened the scoring in the 29th minute after an excellent pass by Dempsey. Zeca equalized in the 54th minute after Tottenham wasted numerous big chances through Defoe. A Karnezis own goal and a late Defoe secured the victory for the Spurs. Manager Andre Villas-Boas said: “We’ve been scoring a lot of goals and I think the team is the second-best attacking team in the Premier League. We create chances and we took our chances.”
That means 4 Premier League teams will play in the last 32 of the Europa League. Chelsea, Tottenham, Newcastle and Liverpool will hope for an easy opponent in the draw for the knockout stage on 20 December.
