Ajax exits Europa

LONDON — Four-time European Champion Ajax Amsterdam was felled at the first hurdle of the continent’s second tier Europa League Thursday, exiting in the group stage two days after rivals PSV Eindhoven celebrated long-awaited success. Dutch football was in a jubilant mood after PSV became the first club in eight years from the Netherlands to reach the last 16 of the Champions League Tuesday, but Ajax’s failure to make it out of Group A following a 1-1 draw at home to Molde will have dampened enthusiasm. Ajax was pipped to second place by Fenerbahce, whose 1-1 draw with Celtic added its name to the lengthy list of qualifiers for the knockout rounds after Thursday’s games. Fifteen teams had booked their spots in the last 32 before the final group matches, leaving nine places up for grabs, with eight teams set to drop into the competition from the Champions League. Joining Fenerbahce in the draw was Olympique de Marseille, Sion, Midtjylland, Lokomotiv Moscow, Sporting, Fiorentina, Anderlecht and Augsburg, which wrapped up its place thanks to a dramatic late goal against Partizan Belgrade. Ajax, one of Europe’s most decorated teams, came into its final group match needing to win and hoping Fenerbahce would slip up against Celtic, beginning with promise by taking the lead through Donny van de Beek’s looping header after 14 minutes. Yet Norwegian outfit Molde, under the guidance of former Manchester United striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has proved surprisingly impressive in the Europa League and Harmeet Singh leveled with a low shot 15 minutes before halftime. Fenerbahce, at this point, was leading Celtic 1-0 through Liverpool loanee Lazar Markovic’s 39th-minute goal, and although the Scottish side fought back to level through Kris Commons, a draw was enough to leave the Turkish side second behind Molde and two points clear of Ajax. Among those safely into the hat for the next stage before Thursday’s games was Napoli, which rounded off its impressive group stage campaign with a 5-2 thrashing of Legia Warsaw to end with a perfect record of six wins. Its romp in Naples, in which Dries Mertens scored twice, took its group total to 22 goals, the most by any side in this season’s competition. Tottenham Hotspur was another side whose place in the last 32 was secure before it hosted Monaco in its final group match in which much-maligned striker Erik Lamela scored a superb first-half hat trick in a 4-1 win. Augsburg sealed its knockout stage berth in the most dramatic fashion, coming back from a goal down to win 3-1 at Partizan Belgrade and progress from Group L at the expense of the Serbian champion. Raul Bobadilla netted in the 89th minute for Augsburg, which edged out its opponent on overall goal difference after finishing level on nine points with an identical head-to-head record. Swiss side Sion celebrated wildly after it drew 0-0 at home to Liverpool to secure second spot in Group B, ahead of Rubin Kazan which was held 2-2 by Girondins Bordeaux. — AFP