Aubameyang the hero as Arsenal beat Benfica

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck a late winner as Arsenal dug deep to beat Benfica 3-2 on the night and 4-3 on aggregate to reach the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday.

When a dreadful mistake by Dani Ceballos just past the hour mark allowed Rafa Silva to put Benfica 2-1 ahead in Athens it meant Arsenal required two goals to avoid a disappointing exit.

But Kieran Tierney’s goal gave Arsenal hope and Aubameyang, who had put the English side ahead in the first half, was in the right place to head home in the 86th minute.

There was still a nervous moment in stoppage time as Benfica hit the woodwork but Arsenal hung on to complete a notable win in Athens.

Elsewhere, Napoli crashed out after failing to overcome a two-goal first-leg deficit against Granada.

Piotr Zielinski found the back of the net after just three minutes to provide the hosts with the perfect start at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

But Angel Montoro restored surprise package Granada’s two-goal advantage midway through the opening half of Thursday’s second leg.

Fabian Ruiz put Napoli back in front on the evening shortly before the hour mark, but the LaLiga side held their nerve to take a 3-2 aggregate win and progress to the last 16.

Dutch giants Ajax booked their spot in the next stage following a 2-1 victory against Lille.

Ajax triumphed by the same score in last week’s opening rubber and Davy Klaassen’s goal after 15 minutes provided Lille with an uphill task.

Yusuf Yazici netted from the penalty spot after 75 minutes to draw the French side level on the evening, but David Neres scored in the final minutes as Ajax closed out the tie.

Gerard Moreno’s brace saw Villarreal cruise to a 4-1 aggregate win over Red Bull Salzburg.

Mergim Berisha gave the Austrian visitors hope with his first-half strike to reduce the deficit to just one goal.

But Moreno scored five minutes from the interval before sealing the last-32 clash with a penalty in the closing stages.

Nathan Patterson made amends for his Covid rule-breach as his first Rangers goal helped fire Steven Gerrard’s team into the last 16 with a 5-2 win over Royal Antwerp.

The Ibrox teenager found himself feeling the wrath of his manager after being caught at an illegal house party with four team-mates earlier this month.

But he repaired some of that damage as he slotted home just 16 seconds after climbing off the bench at half-time as Rangers progressed 9-5 on aggregate.

Elsewhere, Molde and Shakhtar Donetsk also moved into the next round with comfortable aggregate wins over Hoffenheim and Maccabi Tel-Aviv respectively.