Tottenham, Arsenal post wins; Milan goes down
Harry Kane scores his 200th goal for Spurs as it defeats Ludogorets
STOCKHOLM: Harry Kane netted his 200th goal for Tottenham Hotspur as it won 3-1 at Ludogorets while AC Milan’s 24-match unbeaten run ended with a 0-3 loss to Lille in the Europa League on Thursday.
England striker Kane headed home Lucas Moura’s corner to set Spurs on course for a victory over the Bulgarians.
The win put it top of Group J on goal difference with six points from three games after Royal Antwerp lost 0-1 to Austrian side LASK.
AC Milan’s superb run in all competitions came to a shuddering halt as Lille winger Yusuf Yazici netted a hat-trick.
He scored one and two goals in the first and second period respectively in a comprehensive win which put the French side top of Group H.
Yazici’s second hat-trick in three Europa League group games put Lille on seven points, one ahead of AC Milan. Sparta Prague is third after its 4-1 drubbing of Celtic in Glasgow.
Leicester City took control of Group G with its third win in three games, thrashing second-placed Braga 4-0, while AEK Athens beat FC Zorya of Ukraine 4-1 to stay third.
Arsenal also notched up a third consecutive win, a 4-1 success over Molde, helped by two own goals from the Norwegians. The London side leads Group B on nine points, three ahead of Molde and six clear of Rapid Vienna, which beat bottom team Dundalk 4-3.
PAOK bounced back from a goal down with four second-half strikes to defeat Dutch visitor PSV Eindhoven 4-1. With the result, it moved to second on the table on five points, two behind Granada, which won 2-0 at bottom side Omonia Nicosia.
AS Roma put in its most impressive performance of the Group A campaign with a 5-0 drubbing of Romania’s CFR Cluj. Borja Mayoral netted twice for the Italians. Roma tops Group A ahead of Swiss side Young Boys, which downed CSKA Sofia 3-0.
A stoppage-time goal by Darwin Nunez snatched a 3-3 draw for 10-man Benfica at home to Scottish side Rangers in Group D. Rangers leads the group on goal difference. It was goals galore in Group C, with leader Slavia Prague beating French side Nice 3-2. Second-placed Bayer Leverkusen came back from a goal down to win 4-2 at Hapoel Beer Sheva.
Group F remains tight with AZ Alkmaar top on goal difference despite losing 0-1 to Real Sociedad. Alkmaar, Sociedad and Napoli, which won 2-1 at Rijeka, all have six points each.
KEY RESULTS:
Ludogorets 1 lost to Tottenham Hotspur 3; Arsenal 4 beat Molde 1; Leicester City 4 beat Braga 0; AC Milan 0 lost to Lille 3; Benfica 3 drew with Rangers 3; Real Sociedad 1 beat AZ Alkmaar 0; Rijeka 1 lost to Napoli 2; Roma 5 beat CFR Cluj 0; Hapoel Beer Sheva 2 lost to Bayer Leverkusen 4.