Europa League: Rasmus Højlund rescue Man Utd, Spurs hold Rangers

Rasmus Højlund was the hero as Manchester United won away to confirm progress to the UEFA Europa League knockout phase along with Lazio, Athletic Club, Anderlecht, Lyon, Frankfurt and Galatasaray, while Tottenham Hotspur earned a draw at Rangers.

THEUPDATE through UEFA.com, rounds up the Matchday 6 action.

• Viktoria Plzeň 1-2 Manchester United

Substitute Rasmus Højlund’s fourth and fifth goals of the campaign inflicted a first league phase defeat on Plzeň and confirmed a top-24 finish for United.

With his side trailing to Matěj Vydra’s effort shortly after half-time, the Red Devils’ Danish forward levelled from close range six minutes after entering the fray, tapping in the rebound following Amad Diallo’s deflected effort.

The 21-year-old got his second two minutes from time with a neat finish after being picked out by Bruno Fernandes’ intelligent free-kick.

• Rangers 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur

Rangers and Tottenham remain level on 11 points after Dejan Kulusevski cancelled out Hamza Igamane’s opener at Ibrox.

Igamane’s first-time finish from James Tavernier’s sweet delivery gave the hosts the lead not long after half-time, but former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou’s current team improved as the second half wore on and secured a hard-earned point when Kulusevski sent a cool finish past Jack Butland from fellow substitute Dominic Solanke’s pass.

• Ajax 1-3 Lazio

Lazio ended Matchday 6 top of the league phase rankings and sure of a top-24 finish following an impressive victory in Amsterdam.

A dream ball from 37-year-old Pedro Rodríguez after 12 minutes sent Loum Tchaouna through to score his first ever European goal.

Bertrand Traoré thundered in an equaliser early in the second half, but Fisayo Dele-Bashiru restored Lazio’s advantage within five minutes, and Tchaouna then laid the ball back for Pedro to bend in a splendid third for the visitors.

Best of the rest:

• Unbeaten Anderlecht are also sure of a place in the next phase following their 2-1 win at Slavia Praha. Lyon are through after a thrilling 3-2 success at home against 2021/22 Europa League winners Frankfurt, who are also sure of a top-24 finish.
• Galatasaray are also through and unbeaten after six games (W3 D3) but were denied three points by a last-gasp Malmö goal in Sweden. Yunus Akgün’s fifth strike of the league phase looked set to be the winner until Sergio Peña’s added-time finish.
• Athletic Club’s qualification is also confirmed. They stretched their unbeaten run to 12 matches in all competitions (W9 D3) on Wednesday as two Iñaki Williams finishes earned them a 2-0 win at ten-man Fenerbahçe.