Europa Conference League highlights and round-up: Villarreal, West Ham, İstanbul Başakşehir, Djurgården all progress

A quartet of clubs ensured they would be playing European football in the new year as the 2022/23 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage continued.

UEFA.com rounds up the Matchday 4 action.

West Ham 2-1 Anderlecht

The Hammers sealed their place in the knockout stage of the competition courtesy of two first-half goals. Saïd Benrahma struck the opener with a neat free-kick, Jarrod Bowen doubling the advantage soon after with an emphatic finish. Sebastiano Esposito's late penalty set up a nervy finish but the Belgian side were unable to find an equaliser.

Key stat: The Hammers have now won seven of their 11 home ties in UEFA competition since moving to the London Stadium.

Fiorentina 5-1 Hearts

Fiorentina took a step towards the knockout stages with a comfortable win over Hearts – but only after Stephen Humphrys hit the post early on. The Viola responded with goals from Luka Jović, Cristiano Biraghi, Nicolás González and Antonín Barák before the break. Humphrys did strike after the restart but a González penalty rounded off an emphatic home victory.

Key stat: This loss equalled Hearts' record European away defeat, matching their 5-1 reverse at Standard Liège in September 1958.

Austria Wien 0-1 Villarreal

Substitute Nicolas Jackson came off the bench to put the Yellow Submarine through with a late goal in Vienna. The forward tapped in after a Morales back-heel had opened up the home defence. Visiting keeper Pepe Reina had earlier denied Can Keles with an athletic save to tip the ball wide.

Key stat: Jackson's winner was his first goal for Villarreal since 13 August.

Best of the rest

• İstanbul Başakşehir, inspired by Stefano Okaka's double, made sure of a top-two placing in Group A with a 3-0 defeat of RFS, coupled with Hearts' loss in Florence. It was a fourth clean sheet in this season's group stage for the Turkish side.

• Djurgården's top-two status was also confirmed after they raced into a 4-0 lead against Gent in Stockholm courtesy of three goals in quick succession either side of half-time. The home side eventually won 4-2 after a second-half rally by the visitors.

• Leaders AZ must wait to confirm at least second place in Group E after going down to Valentin Roberge's winner for Apollon in Nicosia. The Eredivisie table-toppers were beaten for only the second occasion in all competitions this term – their first reverse since 4 August.

All the Matchday 4 results

Group A: İstanbul Başakşehir 3-0 RFS, Fiorentina 5-1 Hearts
Group B: FCSB 0-5 Silkeborg, West Ham 2-1 Anderlecht
Group C: Austria Wien 0-1 Villarreal, Hapoel Beer-Sheva 1-1 Lech
Group D: Partizan 2-0 Köln, Nice 1-2 Slovácko
Group E: Apollon Limassol 1-0 AZ Alkmaar, Vaduz 1-2 Dnipro-1
Group F: Djurgården 4-2 Gent, Shamrock Rovers 0-2 Molde
Group G: CFR Cluj 2-0 Slavia Praha, Ballkani 1-2 Sivasspor
Group H: Slovan Bratislava 3-3 Basel, Žalgiris 2-1 Pyunik

All the Matchday 5 fixtures (27 October)

Group A: Fiorentina vs İstanbul Başakşehir (18:45), Hearts vs RFS (21:00)
Group B: Anderlecht vs FCSB (18:45), West Ham vs Silkeborg (21:00)
Group C: Villarreal vs Hapoel Beer-Sheva (18:45), Austria Wien vs Lech (18:45)
Group D: Slovácko vs Köln (18:45), Nice vs Partizan (18:45)
Group E: Vaduz vs AZ Alkmaar (18:45), Dnipro-1 vs Apollon Limassol (21:00)
Group F: Molde vs Djurgården (21:00), Shamrock Rovers vs Gent (21:00)
Group G: Ballkani vs Slavia Praha (21:00), Sivasspor vs CFR Cluj (21:00)
Group H: Basel vs Žalgiris (21:00), Slovan Bratislava vs Pyunik (21:00)