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Europa League Phase Concludes With Villa Into Last 16 as Forest and Celtic Enter Play-Offs

The play-off draw takes place in Nyon at noon GMT on 30 January.

Overview

  • Aston Villa came from 2-0 down to beat RB Salzburg 3-2 and finished second overall, securing direct qualification to the round of 16.
  • Nottingham Forest thrashed Ferencvaros 4-0 with an Igor Jesus brace but ended 13th in the table, placing them in the knockout round play-offs.
  • Celtic clinched a play-off berth with a 4-2 victory over Utrecht after racing into a three-goal lead at Parkhead.
  • UEFA’s format seeds teams finishing 9th–16th against unseeded sides from 17th–24th, allows same-country pairings, and gives seeded teams the second leg at home.
  • Play-off ties are scheduled for 19 and 26 February, with winners joining the top eight—Lyon, Aston Villa, Midtjylland, Real Betis, Porto, Braga, Freiburg and Roma—in the last 16.