Europa League Matchday 8 highlights and round-up: Celtic qualify, Forest win, Lyon top table

Celtic snatched a knockout phase place and Nottingham Forest finished strongly as Lyon, Aston Villa and Midtjylland secured the top three slots in the league phase table of the UEFA Europa League.

We wrap up the final day of league phase action.

Key games

Celtic 4-2 Utrecht

The Bhoys had a blistering opening 20 minutes against Utrecht but were made to work for the 4-2 win that took them to the play-offs. Benjamin Nygren's early finish set Martin O'Neill's side on their way before a Niklas Vesterlund own goal and Arne Engels' penalty put the Scottish side in total command. Dani de Wit's strike just before half-time halted that momentum, and Adrian Blake's strike had the hosts on the back foot until Auston Trusty's towering header sealed the points. 

Nottingham Forest 4-0 Ferencváros

Igor Jesus was on target twice as a dominant Forest finished 13th overall. Ryan Yates set up two goals in four first-half minutes, Ferencváros defender Bence Ötvös turning the Forest captain's cross into his own net before Jesus ran onto Yates' interception to strike. The Brazilian forward got his second ten minutes into the second half, bringing Ibrahim Sangaré's long ball under control and hitting it first time. James McAtee wrapped up victory from the penalty spot with his first Forest goal.

Stuttgart 3-2 Young Boys

Chema Andrés' last-gasp winner helped Stuttgart to secure 11th place in the final table. Deniz Undav guided in the opener just six minutes in, and the home captain set up Ermedin Demirović for Stuttgart's second a minute later. Armin Gigović's thunderous strike cut the deficit before the break and Young Boys were on track for a comeback when Sandro Lauper's world-class finish drew things level. However, Andrés' slid in at the far post to win it for the German side at the last.

Best of the rest

• Lyon topped the table after a 4-2 home success against ten-man PAOK. Aston Villa rallied from 2-0 down beat Salzburg 3-2 and take second place. Midtjylland's 2-0 success against GNK Dinamo left them third.
• Reduced to ten men on 15 minutes, Roma came from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at Panathinaikos and finish in eighth in the rankings, sealing the final direct passage in the round of 16.
• Lille, Ludogorets, GNK Dinamo and Brann joined Celtic in taking the last five knockout round places. Ludogorets' Petar Stanić struck against Nice to stay top of the season's top scorer rankings with seven goals.