Europa League Matchday 6 highlights and round-up: Ferencváros, Aston Villa and Lyon among six qualifiers

Aston Villa, Ferencváros, Freiburg, Lyon, Midtjylland, Real Betis can start preparing for the UEFA Europa League knockout stages after wins in their final league phase games of 2025.

UEFA.com recaps the Matchday 6 action.

Key games

Brann 0-4 Fenerbahçe

Talisca scored a hat-trick as Fenerbahçe coasted to victory against ten-man Brann.

Kerem Aktürkoğlu opened the scoring with a delightful chip before Eivind Helland's red card for pulling down Youssef En-Nesyri as the last man gave the visitors total control.

Talisca then took the game into his own hands, converting two volleys before heading his third late on. Brann rallied a little in the closing stages, but by then the damage was done.

Ferencváros 2-1 Rangers

Bence Ötvös' strike and Barnabás Varga's header clinched a comeback victory for the hosts to extend their unbeaten league phase run and book a place in the knockout stage.

In search of their first win in this season's competition, Rangers took the lead in spectacular fashion just before the half-hour via Bojan Miovski's audacious scissor-kick.

However, on the stroke of half-time, Ötvös found the corner of the net after a crisp passing move, Varga completing the turnaround in the 73rd minute when he nodded in from Callum O'Dowda's inviting cross.

Utrecht 1-2 Nottingham Forest

Substitute Igor Jesus' 88th-minute winner secured Forest's first away victory of the campaign.

Callum Hudson-Odoi and Douglas Luiz tested home goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas early on before Arnaud Kalimuendo fired the English club in front seven minutes after half-time.

Kalimuendo then volleyed against a post, and substitute Mike van der Hoorn's 73rd-minute header gave Utrecht parity and hope of a second point. However, Igor Jesus pounced after Barkas saved Dan Ndoye's header, deciding the contest less than two minutes after coming on.

Celtic 0-3 Roma

Two Evan Ferguson goals helped Roma extend their perfect away record to three matches.

Celtic defender Liam Scales put Matias Soulé's corner into his own net for the sixth-minute opener, with Ferguson shooting against a post before slotting in Zeki Çelik's cross 30 minutes later. He then finished clinically from Soulé's pass during first-half added time.

Arne Engels struck a post with a penalty before half-time for the Hoops, who needed goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel to deny Leon Bailey after the break.

Best of the rest

• After wins that took them to 15 points, Lyon and Aston Villa are among the three top sides in the league phase table, along with Danish contenders Midtjylland, who secured their fifth win of the campaign thanks to Guesung Cho's first-half against Genk. All three are now sure of at least a knockout phase play-off tie.
• Four sides end 2025 unbeaten in the league phase; with four victories and two draws apiece, Ferencváros, Freiburg and Real Betis are sure of a place in the knockout phase, but the same cannot be said for Viktoria Plzeň, who have ten points (W2 D4) after recording a third successive 0-0 draw, at Panathinaikos.
• PAOK snatched a late equaliser in a 3-3 draw against Ludogorets, but that was not the most dramatic finale of the night. FCSB took the lead at home against Feyenoord, but trailed 3-1 early in the second half before mounting a thrilling comeback which culminated in Florin Tănase making it 4-3 in added time.