Everton and Celtic defeated but through as Europa last 32 settled
EVERTON crashed to defeat in their final Europa League pool clash against FK Krasnodar at Goodison Park last night but will enter the draw for the last 32 as a seeded team after already guaranteeing top spot in Group H.
Colombian Ricardo Laborde took advantage of a mistake by keeper Joel Robles, one of 10 changes made by Everton manager Roberto Martinez from the side which started last Saturday’s Premier League defeat at Manchester City.
Only Gareth Barry retained his place while Martinez recalled striker Arouna Kone after a 14-month injury lay-off and handed a senior debut to England Under-18 skipper Ryan Ledson.
Ledson was one of four debutants for Everton as forward Kieran Dowell made his first appearance as an early substitute for the injured Christian Atsu, while striker Chris Long and midfielder Gethin Jones made late cameo appearances.
Celtic suffered a 4-3 reverse to Dinamo Zagreb but had already second their qualification in second place behind Red Bull Salzburg, Marko Pjaca netted a hat-trick for the Croatian side while a Josip Pivaric own goal added to strikes from Kris Commons and Stefan Scepovic for the Bhoys.
LAST 32
SEEDED: Olympiacos, Sporting Lisbon, Athletic Bilbao, Zenit St Petersburg, Borussia Monchengladbach, Club Brugge, Besiktas, FC Red Bull Salzburg, Dinamo Moscow, Inter Milan, Feyenoord, Everton, Napoli, Dynamo Kiev, Fiorentina, Legia Warsaw
UNSEEDED: Anderlecht, Ajax, Liverpool, Roma, Tottenham, Villarreal, Torino, Celtic, PSV, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Sevilla, VfL Wolfsburg, BCS Young Boys, Aalborg BK, Guingamp, Trabzonspor