FC Barcelona 1-1 Napoli
FC Barcelona battled back to secure a 1-1 draw against Napoli in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League knockout play-off tie on Thursday evening.
Barca gave new signing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang his first start while the visitors' attack was spearheaded by Victor Osimhen.
The Catalan giants were asking questions in the opening exchanges and Aubameyang came close to giving them the lead in the 18th minute with a strike from the edge of the box that scraped the outside of the post.
However, Piotr Zielinksi eventually broke the deadlock for the visitors on the half-hour mark with a close-range strike after his initial shot was saved by goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Xavi's charges continued to pressurise Gli Azzurri in the closing phase of the first stanza but they lacked the final product, as they went to the half-time break trailing by an odd goal.
Blaugrana were handed a lifeline just before the hour-mark after they were awarded a penalty by a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for a handball by Juan Jesus in the box, which allowed Torres to step up and convert from 12 yards out.
Barca went searching for the winner after that, as Xavi brought on the fresh legs of Ousmane Dembele in place of Traore in attack while Sergio Busquets replaced Frenkie de Jong in midfield.
The hosts had the attacking momentum in the closing stages, with the forward trio of Aubameyang, Torres and Dembele causing all sorts of problems but they missed a number of chances in the dying minutes, as Luciano Spalletti's men held on for the draw.
Borussia Dortmund 2-4 Rangers
Borussia Dortmund's chances of reaching the last 16 are hanging by a thread after a shock 4-2 defeat to Rangers in the play-off first-leg at Signal Iduna Park.
James Tavernier and Alfredo Morelos, John Lundstram and Dan-Axel Zagadou were on target for the visitors while Jude Bellingham and Raphael Guerreiro got two goals back for Marco Rose's charges
Sevilla 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb
Sevilla boosted their chances of going through to the last 16 after thrashing Dinamo Zagreb 3-1 in the play-off first-leg at Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Ivan Rakitic gave Sevilla an early lead but Mislav Orsic levelled matters for Zagreb in the tail end of the first stanza.
However, Lucas Ocampos and Anthony Martial got two quick goals on the stroke of half-time to give Julen Lopetegui's charges the win.
RB Leipzig 2-2 Real Sociedad
RB Leipzig came from behind twice to rescue a draw in a four-goal thriller against Real Sociedad in the knockout round play-off first-leg clash at Red Bull Arena.
Robin Le Normand gave Sociedad an early lead but Christopher Nkunku equalised for the Red Bulls on the half-hour mark.
Mikel Oyarzabal restored the lead for the Spanish side in the 64th minute but Emil Forsberg snatched the equaliser for Leipzig eight minutes before time.
Atalanta 2-1 Olympiakos Piraeus
Atalanta rescued victory from behind after edging Olympiakos Piraeus 2-1 thanks to a brace by Berat Djimsiti in the knockout play-off first-leg at Gewiss Stadium.
Francisco Soares gave Olympiakos the lead in the 16th minute, but Djimsiti scored two goals in two minutes just after the hour-mark to give the Italian side a narrow advantage ahead of the second-leg.
Zenit Saint Petersburg 2-3 Real Betis
Real Betis got a slender advantage in the knockout play-off first-leg after edging Zenit Saint Petersburg in a five-goal thriller at Gazprom Arena.
Guido Rodriguez and Willian Jose gave Manuel Pellegrini's charges a two-goal cushion in the first 18 minutes but Artem Dzyuba and Malcom got two goals in three minutes to level things up just before the half-hour mark.
However, Andres Guardado netted what proved to be the winner for the Spanish side just before the half-time break.
FC Porto 2-1 Lazio
Porto increased their chances of reaching the last 16 after coming from behind to beat Lazio 2-1 the first leg.
Mattia Zaccagni broke the deadlock for Lazio in the 23rd minute but Toni Martinez levelled matters for Porto eight minutes before the half-time break.
Martinez scored what proved to be the winner for the Portuguese giants early in the second stanza and completed his brace.
Sheriff Tiraspol 2-0 Sporting Braga
Sheriff Tiraspol increased their chances of reaching the round of 16 after a 2-0 win over Sporting Braga in the play-off first-leg at Stadionul Sheriff.
Sebastien Thill broke the deadlock for Sheriff just before the half-time break from the penalty spot and Malian forward Adama Traore secured the win with the second goal eight minutes before time.
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