PARIS — Marcos Reus scored a hat trick as Borussia Dortmund cruised into the Europa League group stage Thursday with Athletic Bilbao and Ajax also advancing alongside Azerbaijani clubs Qarabag and Gabala, but England's Southampton crashed at the first hurdle. Borussia Dortmund went on a goal spree in Germany to continue its dream start to the season under new coach Thomas Tuchel with Marcos Reus scoring a hat trick in a 7-2 rout — 11-5 on aggregate — over Norwegian side Odds BK. Dortmund had already pulled off a remarkable 4-3 comeback win from three goals down after 22 minutes a week ago in Norway. Southampton failed in its bid to join Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool in the group stage, falling behind following a 28th-minute goal from former Celtic striker Morten Rasmussen which send Danish champions FC Midtjylland through 2-1 on aggregate. In Bilbao, Athletic turned around a 3-2 loss at Slovak side MSK Zilina with a first-half goal from Gorka Elustondo giving the beaten 2012 finalists a 1-0 win on the night, 3-3 on aggregate and victory on away goals. In Istanbul, Fenerbahce earned a 3-0 win over Greek side Atromitos with a double from Brazilian Fernandao in either half with Greek goalkeeper Andrei Gorunov spilling a goal into his own net after 59 minutes. It gave the 2013 semifinalists a 4-0 aggregate win. Dutch giant Ajax advanced 1-0 on aggregate following a goalless draw at Czech minnows Jablonec. French clubs Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne joined Marseille and Monaco in the group stage. An Enzo Crivelli backheeled goal on 76 minutes secured Bordeaux's passage on away goals despite a 2-1 loss at Kairat Almaty. Bordeaux had the longest journey in the competition but carried a 1-0 advantage to the Kazakh side thanks to a first half goal from Tunisian striker Wahbi Khazri in France. A first-half Benjamin Corgnet header saw St-Etienne through with a 1-0 win at home over Moldova's Milsami Orhei and a 2-1 aggregate score following a 1-1 draw. Azerbaijan has two teams through with Qarabag and Gabala both advancing at the expense of Swiss club Young Boys (1-0, 3-0) and Greek club Panathinaïkos (0-0, 2-2) respectively. Ajax to meet Celtic Former European champion Ajax Amsterdam and Celtic, who both suffered the indignity of being knocked of the Champions League qualifiers by underdogs this season, will meet in the Europa League after being drawn together in the group stage Friday. Four-time European champions Ajax, beaten by Rapid Vienna in the premier competition, and Celtic, who were ousted by Malmo, were placed in Group A alongside Turkey's Fenerbahce and Norwegian side Molde. Anderlecht will meet Tottenham Hotspur in a repeat of the 1984 final after they were drawn in Group J alongside Monaco and Qarabag. The English Premier League side won the UEFA Cup 31 years ago on penalties after both legs against Anderlecht ended 1-1. Napoli was drawn with Club Bruges, Legia Warsaw and Midtjylland in Group D, while Borussia Dortmund must face PAOK, Krasnodar and Qabala in Group C. Liverpool was drawn against Swiss side Sion, who it beat 6-3 at Anfield in 1996, Girondins Bordeaux and Rubin Kazan in Group B. Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, last season's runners-up, will face Lazio, St Etienne and Rosenborg in Group G. Fiorentina coach Paulo Sousa faces a quick return to FC Basel, the team he led to the Swiss league title last season, after they were paired in Group I, which also features Lech Poznan and Belenenses. Basel's St Jakob Park stadium will host the final. — Agencies
