Europa League round-up: Rangers, Qarabağ, Sparta and Toulouse all qualify

Rangers, Qarabağ, Sparta Praha, and Toulouse all qualified for the UEFA Europa League knockout stage on Matchday 6, while Liverpool had a disappointing night in Belgium.

Here's how the action unfolded

Real Betis 2-3 Rangers

Scorers: Miranda 14′, Pérez 37′; Sima 10′, Dessers 20′, Roofe 78′

Rangers needed a win to steal the other berth from Real Betis with Sparta winning comfortably at Aris Limassol to secure a top-two finish in Group C.

Philippe Clement's team led twice in the first half, but goals from Abdallah Sima and Cyriel Dessers were cancelled out by Juan Miranda and Ayoze Pérez.

Rangers went ahead for the third and final time on 78 minutes when substitute Kemar Roofe scrambled the ball into the net from close range, and then held on to clinch top spot in the section.

Qarabağ 2-1 Häcken

Scorers: Andrade 1′, Benzia 45+3′; Huseynov 90+4′ (OG)

The Azerbaijani champions earned the victory they needed to finish second in Group H behind the imperious Leverkusen, who defeated Molde 5-1 to earn the only 100% record in this season's group stage.

Leandro Andrade took advantage of a goalkeeping error to put Qarabağ ahead in the first minute, and Yassine Benzia doubled their lead in first-half added time.

The dismissal of Marko Vešović on 56 minutes took the wind out of Qarabağ's sails, but Häcken only got one back at the death, Badavi Hüseynov heading past his own keeper.

Union SG 2-1 Liverpool

Scorers: Amoura 32′, Castro 43′; Quansah 40′

Mohammed Amoura scored from close range after beating Caoimhin Kelleher in a one-on-one duel on 32 minutes, before the Reds equalized eight minutes later through Jarell Quansah's crisp strike.

Unfazed, the hosts scored soon after, with Cameron Puertas squeezing in a shot at Kelleher's right-hand post after collecting Amoura's pass.

However, Toulouse's late winner at LASK denied Union SG second place in Group E; they will instead compete in the Europa Conference League.

Brighton 1-0 Marseille

Scorers: Pedro 88′

João Pedro was the man in the Europa League once more, scoring his sixth goal in the competition this season to seal another famous win for Brighton late on.

With a win needed to top the group and avoid the knockout round playoffs, Brighton came out firing in the first ten minutes.

After some typically slick play, the ball fell to Simon Adingra, who cut in but shot straight at Marseille keeper Pau Lopez.

The French side then came dangerously close to scoring, with Jonathan Clauss' strike taking a huge deflection and beating Jason Steele all ends up but hitting the crossbar.

Brighton had a chance early in the second half, but João Pedro was unable to connect with Adingra's cross.

Amine Harit's shot hit the post before bouncing off Steele as the visitors hit the woodwork for the second time just before the hour. Fortunately for the Seagulls, no one followed up and tapped home.

Brighton got the goal they needed thanks to their go-to man, João Pedro, who smashed the ball home from close range before leaping into the ecstatic crowd.

Roberto De Zerbi's men held out for a memorable victory, leapfrogging Marseille in the group and moving on to the last 16.

Bayer Leverkusen 5-1 Molde

Scorers: Schick 6′, Tapsoba 22′, Ellingsen (OG) 25′, Hložek 60′, 70′

Despite having several stars rested, Bayer Leverkusen completed a perfect group record with a thrashing of Molde.

Patrik Schick fired home from just outside the box after some neat dribbling got him in position to strike after just six minutes for Xabi Alonso's side.

In the 22nd minute, Edmond Tapsoba headed home a Jonas Hoffman cross, and it was three minutes later when Martin Elligsen turned the ball into his own net. It was all one-way traffic.

The hosts continued to dominate possession in the second half, scoring their fourth goal on the hour mark through Adam Hložek, who finished Noah Mbamba's pass.

Ten minutes later, the young Czech striker scored his second goal with another nice finish.

Molde scored in the 75th minute, with Ellingsen assisting Eric Kinsolano, who finished smartly inside the box.

The Bundesliga leaders will enter the knockout rounds as one of the tournament favorites.

Other results

West Ham 2-0 Freiburg

Olympiacos 5-2 TSC

Ajax 3-1 AEK Athens

Aris Limassol 1-3 Sparta Prague

Sporting CP 3-0 Sturm Graz

Raków Czestochowa 0-4 Atalanta

LASK 1-2 Toulouse

Rennes 2-3 Villarreal

Panathinaikos 1-2 Maccabi Haifa

Roma 3-0 Sheriff Tiraspol

Slavia Prague 4-0 Servette

SportsLigue