OGC Nice’s exit from the UEFA Europa League has been confirmed after a 1-0 defeat to IF Elfsborg in Sweden on Thursday night. Nice had looked on course for an early exit from the competition

Considering Hoffenheim are 16th in the Bundesliga and 27th in the Europa League, this marks an important opportunity for Tottenham to deliver some optimism in a season that has been memorably tough. Spurs may be 15th in the Premier League but they are in strong standing in all of the cup competitions – they are through to the FA Cup fourth round,

UEFA Europa League standings after Thursday's matches, the penultimate round of group games (played, won, drawn, lost, goals for, goals against, points):

Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wins his first match in charge of Besiktas as they beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the Europa League.

Hoffenheim (GER) 2 (Stach 68, Mokwa 88) Tottenham (ENG) 3 (Maddison 3, Son Heung-min 22, 77) Malmo (SWE) 2 (Berg Johnsen 32, Christiansen 79) Twente (NED) 3 (Steijn 28-pen, Van Wolfswinkel 61-pen, Lagerbielke 64)

Which teams are in the hunt for automatic qualification for the last 16? Who's on the brink of elimination? What about the playoffs?

Ajax suffered an incredibly embarrassing loss to Latvian side RFS Riga on Thursday. The Amsterdammers lost 1-0 to a goal from Adam Markhiev, who gave the Latvian team their first-ever win in European competition.

As you can see, those in the UEFA Europa League this season receive £126,400 for a draw and £379,201 for each win. Ahead of Thursday’s action, Manchester United currently have three wins and three draws from six European outings so far this season, earning the Red Devils a total of £1.5m so far.

Arsenal have offered a young star a deal to extend his contract beyond the summer, though Manchester United are 'confident' of snatching the player who was at Old Trafford for United's Europa League clash with Rangers,

Former Ghanaian international and Chelsea legend Michael Essien has openly stated that Thomas Partey is a better midfielder than he was in his prime.

Garnacho was selected amid interest from Chelsea and Napoli. But when asked if last night was the player's last appearance as a United player, Amorim replied: "No, I’m focused on the games and he’s here, he’s a player for Manchester United.