Lyon & Aston Villa set league-phase points record
20 - Olympique Lyon became the second team to top the Europa League's league phase thanks to a 4-2 defeat of 10-man PAOK Thessaloniki.
OL made the most of playing up a man for the second half, with three second-half goals leading them to their seventh win in the competition this term.
Lyon, who are the only team to finish in the top eight in each of the first two UEL league stages, have scored 20 goals during their eight-game unbeaten home run in Europe (6-2-0).
6 - Despite having a man advantage, Panathinaikos were only able to grab a point at home against AS Roma. The match, which finished 1-1, saw the Greek giants slip down to 20th to conclude the league phase.
Roma, meanwhile, held onto a top-eight place, qualifying directly for the last 16. This is despite their four-match winning streak coming to an end. Panathinaikos have now drawn six matches in the UEL this term, qualifiers included.
9 - A pair of first-half goals for Real Betis were enough for them to top Feyenoord 2-1 at home and avoid the knockout round playoffs. Antony scored the opener before assisting Abde Ezzalzouli as Los Verdiblancos held firm in the second 45.
It is an early elimination for Feyenoord, who will not feature in a knockout stage for the first time since 2020/21. The Rotterdam-based team, who won the 2001/02 UEFA Cup, are now nine matches without victory on the road, losing their last six (0-2-7).
10 - Go Ahead Eagles' maiden appearance in a UEFA club competition proper is over as they drew 0-0 against Sporting Braga in what was the only scoreless match on the night.
The Eredivisie outfit created very little in the match, mustering just four shots in the 90 minutes. As for the Portuguese side, they end the league phase in sixth spot, earning a last-16 berth. Moreover, have kept a 10th clean sheet in the Europa League this campaign.
16 - FCSB and Fenerbahce played to a 1-1 draw in Bucharest, a result that did more damage to the hosts. Ismail Yuksek's opener 19 minutes in for the Turkish outfit, was cancelled out later on by Juri Cisotti.
The Romanians required a win to have any shot at progression, meaning they are now out. Fener move on with a little bit more comfort in comparison to last season. FCSB scored their 16th goal in their head-to-head versus Turkish opposition.
5 - Aston Villa made things tricky for themselves, but managed to overturn a two-goal deficit against RB Salzburg to top the Austrians 3-2 at Villa Park. Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba netted the winner with three minutes left to spare Villa's blushes, and see them finish level on points with Lyon - the most ever gained in a league phase (21).
Salzburg are eliminated, although they would have qualified had they held onto their lead. It is now five wins in a row for Villa in Europe, their longest-ever run.
1 - Goals from Doguhan Simsir and Victor Bak helped FC Midtjylland to a 2-0 success over Dinamo Zagreb in Denmark. Both goals came after the interval as the Danes finished their league phase strong to earn a place in the last 16.
Losing their fourth in their last five, Dinamo will have to contest the knockout round playoffs. Hedens Drenge, who are chasing UEL glory, have won all of their home games in a group phase for the first time.
17 - Porto join their Portuguese rivals Braga on 17 points and a top-eight finish thanks to a 3-1 comeback victory at the expense of Rangers. All of the goals came in the first half as the 2010/11 winners earned their fifth win of the league phase.
Rangers' disastrous league phase is over, as they scored the third fewest goals. It is an eighth UEL away match without a clean sheet for the Gers, who have conceded 17 times during that stretch.
25 - Falling behind very early on in a match they had to win, Genk managed to turn things around against the already-eliminated Malmo, defeating their Swedish opponents 2-1.
Konstantinos Karetsas shot proved to be the difference maker in Belgium as the Smurfs enjoy knockout round football in Europe for the first time since 2018/19. Genk were pressing for the match, evidenced by their 25 shots attempted in the clash.
Swiss sides eliminated as Brann squeak through
15 - Just as they did in the UEFA Champions League last season, Stuttgart managed to get the better of Young Boys. This time, the Bundesliga were given a much sterner test, but still pulled out a 3-2 success.
Chema Andres' 90th-minute winner for Die Roten made them a seeded club for the knockout playoffs. At the same time, it turned out to be the goal that knocked out Young Boys, who would have advanced with a point. It is the first time in 15 years that Stuttgart have won five matches in a European season.
11 - The points were split in Belgrade between Crvena zvezda and Celta Vigo, who played to a 1-1 stalemate. It was late drama, as Fernando Lopez's 88th-minute goal gave Celta the lead. Yet, they only managed a point, as Bruno Duarte responded moments later for the Serbs.
Both teams will now enter the knockout round playoffs, with Red Star unbeaten in five (3-2-0). Celta have now scored in each of their last 11 continental away games.
7 - Lille also left it quite late in their clash with Freiburg, with Olivier Giroud converting a 92nd-minute penalty to help them prevail 1-0. Les Dogues secured their spot in the playoff stage with the win, though results around them would have seen them progress with a defeat.
Freiburg lost in this UEL league phase for the first time, but still ended up in seventh. Funny enough, it is also their seventh away loss all-time in Europe, having failed to score in any of them.
3 - Jiri Panos played hero for Viktoria Plzen, who topped Basel 1-0 on their travels. It means the Swiss champions will not see any more continental football this season as they miss out on the top 24.
As for Plzen, they are the only team to go undefeated in this season's league phase. However, they will still have to go through the knockout playoffs. The Czech club earned just their third win in the UEL proper this term. It was also Basel's maiden defeat versus Czech opposition in their third such contest.
37 - The other team heading into the final round without a loss, Ferencvaros, suffered a heavy 4-0 reverse away to Nottingham Forest. Two goals in each half allowed The Tricky Trees to finish their inaugural UEL group phase campaign on a high.
They join Fradi in the knockout round playoffs, as the Hungarians slipped out of the top eight. Forest have won their last three European home games, something that has not occurred in 37 years.
22 - It was a straightforward win for Bologna, who eased past Maccabi Tel Aviv 3-0 in Backa Topola. The Italians just missed out on the top eight by just one point to their fellow Serie A counterparts, Roma.
Just as was the case last season, Maccabi are eliminated from the Europa League at the group phase. They failed to win a match this term, one of three teams that can claim that. The Israelis ended up conceding 22 times in their eight games, the most of the 36 sides.
2 - Sturm Graz ended their continental run on a positive note, beating Norway's Brann 1-0 at home. Otar Keitishvili provided the winning goal in the 85th minute, temporarily dropping their opponents out of the top 24.
However, thanks to results elsewhere, Brann will play in the knockout playoffs after finishing 24th on goal difference. With that said, the Nordic team scored the joint-fewest away goals in the league phase, doing so just twice.
14 - Needing three points to secure knockout round football, Celtic raced to a 3-0 lead at home to Utrecht, who were already out. They ultimately held their nerve to win 4-2 against the outgoing Dutch side to make a return to the next stage.
The Hoops finished 21st with the win, and are one of four clubs to have moved on despite having a negative goal difference (-2). Utrecht, meanwhile, still await their maiden win in a UEFA club competition proper, having failed to do so in 14 attempts (0-6-8).
28 - Petar Stanic's goal a few minutes before the interval saw Ludogorets through to the next round with a 1-0 defeat of OGC Nice. Despite losing a week earlier, the Bulgarians recovered to play UEL knockout football for the first time since 2019/20.
Nice, just as they did in 2024/25, did not make it past the group phase. The only difference this time is that they did muster one win. Still, this was the 28th road defeat in European history for Les Aiglons.