Europa League round-up: Liverpool, Marseille and West Ham among qualifiers

Liverpool, Marseille and West Ham were three of the teams able to celebrate qualification from the UEFA Europa League group stage after getting the results they needed on Matchday 5.

UEFA.com rounds up the Thursday night action.

Liverpool 4-0 LASK

Liverpool qualified for the round of 16 as winners of Group E with another dominant home display against LASK.

Luis Díaz headed them into an early lead which was swiftly added to by Cody Gakpo’s tap-in after fine play between Díaz and captain for the evening Mohamed Salah.

Salah's emphatic penalty in the second half – his 199th goal for the club – and a powerful second from Gakpo wrapped up the win. LASK, who had their chances but could not beat Caoimhín Kelleher, could still finish third in the group.

Key stat: Salah extended his club record to 44 goals in Europe for Liverpool – the most scored by a player for an English side.

TSC 0-1 West Ham

Tomáš Souček's late volley ensured West Ham sealed a top-two finish and kept them on course for first place in Group A.

With time running out, the midfielder produced a fine close-range effort to steer in substitute Maxwel Cornet's inviting cross.

TSC had the better of the earlier opportunities, but Uroš Milovanović and Aleksandar Ćirković were unable to beat Łukasz Fabiański.

Key stat: Souček has now scored in his last five outings for club and country, including a late winner in his last three for the Hammers.

Marseille 4-3 Ajax

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a stunning overhead kick and an added-time penalty to seal his hat-trick as Marseille secured progress with an enthralling win over Ajax.

The French side gave the lead away three times and Ajax – who now cannot claim a top-two spot – looked to have snatched a point as Chuba Akpom headed in shortly after they had Steven Berghuis sent off.

But when Ismaïla Sarr was caught by Ajax keeper Diant Ramaj in added time, Aubameyang’s second penalty of the night sealed a memorable win.

Key stat: Aubameyang has now scored 29 Europa League goals, one behind record holder Radamel Falcao.

AEK Athens 0-1 Brighton

João Pedro's fifth goal in five Europa League games sealed Brighton's progress from Group B as they edged a even encounter at AEK Athens.

After Steven Zuber hit the post for the hosts in the first half, João Pedro won and then converted a penalty in the 56th minute having been tripped in the box.

AEK faced an uphill task after Mijat Gaćinović was sent off shortly afterwards for two yellow cards, and the Seagulls dug deep to see out another impressive victory.

Key stat: João Pedro is only the third player to score four penalties for an English club in a major European season, joining John Wark in 1980/81 for Ipswich Town and Bruno Fernandes in 2020/21 for Manchester United.

Rangers 1-1 Aris Limassol

Rangers still have work to do to qualify after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Aris at Ibrox.

Shavy Bebicka shocked the home crowd as he rounded Jack Butland for the opener but substitute Ross McCausland, on for Todd Cantwell, levelled shortly after the break.

Rangers were unable find a winner though and must match Sparta Praha's result on Matchday 6 to progress.

Key stat: Rangers are now unbeaten in nine games across all competitions since Philippe Clement replaced Michael Beale as manager (W6 D3).

Best of the rest

• Sparta Praha kept their hopes of progressing from Group C alive as Lukáš Haraslín's second-half strike was enough to beat section leaders Real Betis.

• Villarreal ensured their progress from Group F with a strong showing against Panathinaikos. Álex Baena, Santiago Comesaña and José Luis Morales were the goalscorers in a 3-2 victory in Spain.

• Freiburg's Michael Gregoritsch scored the second hat-trick of the group stage with a superb treble within the opening 37 minutes of his side's 5-0 victory at home to Olympiacos.

All the Matchday 5 results

Group A: Freiburg 5-0 Olympiacos, TSC 0-1 West Ham
Group B: AEK Athens 0-1 Brighton, Marseille 4-3 Ajax
Group C: Sparta Praha 1-0 Real Betis, Rangers 1-1 Aris Limassol
Group D: Atalanta 1-1 Sporting CP, Sturm Graz 0-1 Raków Czestochowa
Group E: Liverpool 4-0 LASK, Toulouse 0-0 Union SG
Group F: Maccabi Haifa 0-3 Rennes, Villarreal 3-2 Panathinaikos
Group G: Servette 1-1 Roma, Sheriff Tiraspol 2-3 Slavia Praha
Group H: Molde 2-2 Qarabağ, Häcken 0-2 Leverkusen

All the Matchday 6 fixtures (14 December)

Group A: West Ham vs Freiburg (21:00), Olympiacos vs TSC (21:00)
Group B: Ajax vs AEK Athens (21:00), Brighton vs Marseille (21:00)
Group C: Real Betis vs Rangers (21:00), Aris Limassol vs Sparta Praha (21:00)
Group D: Sporting CP vs Sturm Graz (21:00), Raków Czestochowa vs Atalanta (21:00)
Group E: Union SG vs Liverpool (18:45), LASK vs Toulouse (18:45)
Group F: Rennes vs Villarreal (18:45), Panathinaikos vs Maccabi Haifa (18:45)
Group G: Roma vs Sheriff Tiraspol (18:45), Slavia Praha vs Servette (18:45)
Group H: Leverkusen vs Molde (18:45), Qarabağ vs Häcken (18:45)