Man U face Rostov in Europa League last 16
Ali sent off as Spurs crash out to Gent, Lyon knock in seven against hapless Alkmaar
>> NYON: Favourites Manchester United were drawn yesterday to face modest Russian side Rostov in the last 16 of the Europa League.
Jose Mourinho’s side beat French club Saint-Etienne 4-0 on aggregate in the last 32. The English club will travel to Russia on Thursday, March 9 with the second leg a week later on March 16.
Italian side AS Roma, also among the competition favourites, drew French club Lyon which could be the clash of the round.
There is also an all-German pairing as Schalke 04 take on Borussia Moenchengladbach, while two of the three remaining Belgian sides were also cast together as Genk drew Gent.
Anderlecht landed Cypriots Apoel as Greek champions Olympiakos play Turkey’s Besiktas.
Celta Vigo — La Liga’s sole remaining representative in the second-tier European competition — host another Russian outfit Krasnodar as Dutch giants Ajax travel to FC Copenhagen.
On Thursday, Tottenham Hotspur’s hopes were crushed by mid-table Belgian side Gent, who booked their spot in the last 16 with a 2-2 draw at Wembley as the hosts paid the penalty for Dele Alli’s first-half red card.
Gent, eighth in their domestic league, went through 3-2 on aggregate after the second leg of the last32 tie and was joined by Olympique Lyonnais who won 7-1 at home to AZ Alkmaar for an 11-2 triumph over two legs.
Borussia Moenchengladbach stormed back from 3-0 down on aggregate to beat Fiorentina thanks to a 12-minute hat-trick from Lars Stindl and AS Roma cruised into the next round 4-1 despite a 1-0 home defeat against Villarreal.
Europa League favourites Manchester United beat St Etienne 1-0 away on Wednesday for a 4-0 aggregate victory.
Spurs had begun in front of a record Europa League crowd of 80,465 at Wembley, where they have played European home games this term due to building work at White Hart Lane, and levelled the aggregate score after 10 minutes through Christian Eriksen.
But an own goal that glanced off the head of Spurs striker Harry Kane 10 minutes later put Gent back in the driving seat, before a moment of madness from Alli sealed Tottenham’s fate.
The England midfielder showed the short fuse that was a factor in his early career as he leapt two-footed into a knee high challenge to draw a red card five minutes before half-time.
Spurs restored their advantage on the night with a thumping strike from midfielder Victor Wanyama but Jeremy Perbet, who grabbed the only goal in the first leg, scored again with a deflected effort after 82 minutes to end the hosts’ hopes.
Four-time European champions Ajax went through with a 1-0 victory and the same aggregate score over Legia Warsaw, while Celta Vigo won 2-0 at Shakhtar Donetsk after extratime to clinch a 2-1 win over the two legs.
Zenit St Petersburg beat Anderlecht 3-1 at home, but went out on away goals after the match finished 3-3 on aggregate.