Aston Villa secured their place in the round of 16 of the Europa League on Thursday when Jadon Sancho’s header earned a 1-0 win at Fenerbahce, while SC Freiburg and Olympique Lyonnais also booked their places in the knockout stages.
The deadlock in Istanbul was broken by Villa in the 25th minute when Sancho sent a precise downward header into the net after a deflected cross from Matty Cash.
The second half brought plenty of action and Fenerbahce thought the equalizer had come in the 75th minute when Kerem Akturkoglu found the net, but this was disallowed after offside in the build-up and Villa held on for the win.
Celtic got off to a flying start in Bologna with two goals in the first half as Reo Hatate struck early and Auston Trusty doubled the lead before half-time. However, between the two goals, Hatate was sent off after receiving two yellow cards.
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Bologna responded through Thijs Dallinga before Jonathan Rowe leveled the score with a goal in the 72nd minute as the match finished 2–2.
Lyon secured their place in the next round with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Young Boys as Ainsley Maitland-Niles struck in Bern deep into first-half stoppage time.
A late goal from Igor Matanovic gave Freiburg a 1-0 win at home to Maccabi Tel-Aviv, giving the German side a place in the last sixteen.
In the Norwegian city of Bergen, a penalty in the tenth minute of stoppage time from Joachim Soltvedt saved a 3-3 draw for SK Brann against Danish side Midtjylland in a highly entertaining Scandinavian clash.
Real Betis’ strong performance in the competition took a hit when they lost 0-2 at PAOK, where a goal from Andrija Zivkovic and a penalty from Giorgos Giakoumakis secured the Greek side a win.
Published on January 23, 2026
