LONDON: Giuseppe Rossi scored the winner as Villarreal rallied to beat Napoli 2-1 to reach the last 16 of the Europa League Thursday. That also ended Italian representation in the competition. After a scoreless first leg in Italy, Napoli was ahead after 22 minutes when Marek Hamsik headed underneath goalkeeper Diego Lopez. Napoli fans fell on to the field as a barrier collapsed in the ensuing celebration at El Madrigal Stadium. Borja Valero set up both of Villarreal's scores as he threaded a pass through to Nilmar to equalize in the 43rd, then fed Rossi for the winner in the second minute of first-half added time. Italy striker Rossi scored his sixth of the competition after his shot deflected off Juan Camilo Zuniga to loop in over goalkeeper Morgan de Sanctis. Earlier British sides Liverpool and Rangers grabbed late goals to sneak into the last 16. Rangers will next play Dutch league leader PSV Eindhoven, which defeated Lille 3-1 to advance 5-3 on aggregate. Other leading sides to advance Thursday were Manchester City, Ajax, Zenit St. Petersburg and Bayer Leverkusen. FC Porto and CSKA Moscow qualified for the last 16 earlier this week. Liverpool, which will play Braga in the second knockout round, dominated the second leg but could not find a way past goalkeeper Jaromir Blazek until Kuyt's late strike. Yannick Djalo's goal seven minutes from time put Sporting 3-2 ahead on aggregate in its entertaining match against Rangers. Substitute David Healy, though, slid in a cross that Edu couldn't fail to finish off from one meter out, allowing the the 2008 finalists to progress. Second-half goals from Balazs Dzsudzsak, Jeremain Lens and Marcelo put PSV through at the expense of French league leader Lille, which took a 3-2 aggregate lead when Pierre-Alain Frau opened the scoring in the 22nd minute. After a goalless first leg between Villarreal and Napoli, the Italian side went ahead after 22 minutes of the return match when Marek Hamsik headed underneath goalkeeper Diego Lopez. Napoli's fans spilled onto the field at El Madrigal Stadium when a barrier collapsed in the ensuing celebrations. Borja Valero set up Nilmar's equalizer for Villarreal in the 43rd before feeding Rossi for the winner in the second minute of first-half added time. Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko scored twice and midfielder Yaya Toure added a third as emerging English giant Man City eased past Aris 3-0 in the second leg and on aggregate. Dynamo Kiev was next for City after the Ukrainian side breezed to an impressive 8-1 win over Besiktas over the two legs. Serbia forward Miralem Sulejmani grabbed a brace for Dutch club Ajax — a four-time European champion — in its 2-0 victory over Anderlecht, sealing a 5-0 win overall. Ajax next plays Spartak Moscow, which went through at the expense of Basel. Zenit, which beat Rangers in the 2008 final in Manchester, rallied from a two-goal aggregate deficit to eliminate Swiss side Young Boys 4-3 and stay on course for a second Europa League title in four years. Ammar Jemal put the visitors 3-1 up in the two-leg series but Danko Lazovic and Sergei Semak scored on either side of the break and Roman Shirokov added a third in the 76th to ease the Russian side through. Simon Rolfes and Michael Ballack scored second-half goals for German side Leverkusen in a 2-0 win over Metalist Kharkiv that completed a 6-0 aggregate win. FC Twente, Paris Saint-Germain and Benfica also went through to the last 16 Thursday.
