MAX EUROPA WRAP: Rangers,Qarabag,Sparta,& Toulouse % %

Rangers scrambled through against the odds at Real Betis, while Sparta Praha, Qarabağ and Toulouse will also march on in the UEFA Europa League.

Rangers, Qarabağ, Sparta Praha and Toulouse earned UEFA Europa League knockout stage places on Matchday 6, while Liverpool had an unhappy night in Belgium.

UEFA.com rounds up the Thursday night action.

With Sparta winning comfortably at Aris Limassol to secure a top-two finish in Group C, Rangers needed victory to steal the other berth from Real Betis. Philippe Clement’s side took the lead twice in the first half, but efforts from Abdallah Sima and Cyriel Dessers were cancelled out by Juan Miranda and Ayoze Pérez.

Besieged after the break, Rangers went in front for a third and final time on 78 minutes as substitute Kemar Roofe scrambled the ball into the net from close range, and then held on to clinch top spot in the section.

Key stat: Before tonight, Real Betis were unbeaten at home in all competitions this season (W7 D3), while Rangers had never won away to a Spanish side in a UEFA game (D3 L9).

Les Violets put domestic misery behind them as they snared second place in Group E thanks to a late winner in Austria. Requiring a point to be sure of qualifying, Toulouse took the lead through Thijs Dallinga after 54 minutes, only for Marin Ljubičić to head the hosts level just after the hour. Lingering nerves were then dispelled on 83 minutes when Norwegian winger Aron Dønnum crossed for Gabriel Suazo to wrap up all three points.

Key stat: Toulouse are without a win in eight Ligue 1 matches (D4 L4) but are unbeaten in three in the Europa League: W2 D1, including a famous 3-2 success against Liverpool.

Union SG 2-1 Liverpool

Mohammed Amoura struck from close range on 32 minutes, having got the better of Caoimhin Kelleher in a one-on-one duel, before the Reds restored parity eight minutes later via Jarell Quansah’s crisp strike. Undeterred, the hosts hit what proved to be the winner 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 meant Union SG were denied second position in Group E; they will instead continue their campaign in the Europa Conference League.

Key stat: This was only Liverpool’s second defeat in 17 UEFA competition matches against Belgian clubs.

Qarabağ 2-1 Häcken

The Azerbaijani champions got the win they needed to finish second in Group H behind imperious Leverkusen, whose 5-1 victory over Molde left them with the only 100% record in this season’s group stage. Leandro Andrade exploited a goalkeeping error to put Qarabağ ahead inside the first minute and they doubled their advantage through Yassine Benzia in first-half added time. Marko Vešović’s dismissal on 56 minutes took the wind from Qarabağ’s sails, but Häcken only pulled one back at the death, Badavi Hüseynov heading past his own keeper.

Key stat: Häcken are the only team to finish this season’s group stage without a point; fellow Swedes Malmö also drew a blank last term.

• Brighton snatched top spot in Group B from Marseille as João Pedro hit an 88th-minute winner: his sixth goal of the campaign. Jonathan Clauss and Amine Harit both struck the woodwork for section runners-up OM.

• West Ham sealed pole position in Group A after well-worked first-half goals from Mohammed Kudus and Edson Álvarez (his first in West Ham colours) ensured they got the better of second-ranked Freiburg.

• Romelu Lukaku scored in his sixth successive Europa League home game as Roma beat Sheriff 3-0, but José Mourinho’s men could not dislodge Slavia Praha from first place in Group G.