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Por Martyn Herman
LONDON, Feb 25 (Reuters) – Arsenal needed a comeback near the end on Thursday to secure their place in the Europa League round of 16 draw, where they will join Ajax, Manchester United, AC Milan and Rangers, in a day in which Napoli was left out of the tournament.
A header from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the 87th minute ensured Arsenal a 3-2 win over Benfica to make it 4-3 on aggregate.
“It certainly keeps the season going, that’s for sure,” said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, whose team is ranked 11th in the Premier League.
Milan, meanwhile, edged Red Star Belgrade on away goals after their tie ended 3-3 on aggregate after a 1-1 draw at San Siro.
Roma had fewer problems and completed a 5-1 aggregate over Braga, while Manchester United also broke through with ease with a 0-0 draw at home against Real Sociedad, following a 4-0 win in going.
A big surprise was the elimination of Napoli, who said goodbye to the tournament despite a 2-1 victory at home against Spanish Granada.
Tottenham Hotspur had reached the round of 16 last night, but Leicester City failed to place four English clubs in the round of 16 as they lost 2-0 at home to Slavia Prague on goals from Lukas Provod and Abdallah Sima.
“There is a lot of euphoria right now,” Provod said. “It was a tough game, but we never stopped believing that we would score a goal.”
Ajax beat Lille 2-1 for a 4-2 aggregate victory, although it was a tough hold for the Dutch side who needed a goal near the end from David Neres to calm their nerves.
Scottish Premier League leaders Rangers completed a stunning 9-5 aggregate victory over Belgian Antwerp thanks to a 5-2 win in Glasgow.
Villarreal also managed to advance after a 2-1 victory over Salzburg to claim a 4-1 aggregate victory, while Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kiev advanced against Maccabi Tel Aviv and Bruges respectively.
Other surprises of the day included the classification of the Norwegian Molde – who won 2-0 as a visit to Hoffenheim to close a 5-3 aggregate triumph – and the elimination of Bayer Leverkusen, who suffered a 6-3 aggregate defeat against Young Boys Swiss. (Reporting by Martyn Herman. Edited in Spanish by Rodrigo Charme)
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