Liverpool, Manchester City advance into Europa League

English clubs Liverpool and Manchester City qualified for the Europa League group stage today along with Italian sides Juventus, Napoli and Palermo.



Liverpool won 2-1 at Turkish club Trabzonspor after conceding an early goal to go through 3-1 on aggregate, while Manchester City defeated Timisoara 2-0 to advance 3-0 on aggregate.



English rival Aston Villa crashed out after losing 3-2 to Rapid Vienna and 4-3 over two legs.



Alessandro Del Piero's goal secured Juventus' 1-0 victory over Sturm Graz to progress 3-1 overall, and Napoli downed Elfsborg 2-0 after having led 1-0 from the first leg.



Palermo advanced 5-3 on aggregate despite losing 3-2 at Maribor.