LONDON: Liverpool and Rangers grabbed late goals to sneak into the last 16 of the Europa League Thursday. Liverpool, which has won the competition three times, required an 86th-minute header by Netherlands forward Dirk Kuyt to beat Sparta Prague 1-0 in their last-32 second leg and progress by the same scoreline on aggregate. United States midfielder Maurice Edu's close-range finish in injury time earned Rangers a 2-2 draw at Sporting Lisbon, with the Scottish champions going through on away goals after the first leg finished 1-1 at Ibrox. Rangers will next play Dutch league leader PSV Eindhoven, which defeated Lille 3-1 to advance 5-3 on aggregate. Other teams through Thursday were Zenit St. Petersburg, Bayer Leverkusen and Spartak Moscow. Bayern beats Inter, Marseille holds United Mario Gomez's last-minute goal earned Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory at defending champion Inter Milan and three-time champion Manchester United was held 0-0 at Marseille in first-leg matches in the last 16 of the Champions League Wednesday. Gomez hooked the loose ball into an empty net after goalkeeper Julio Cesar had failed to hold winger Arjen Robben's shot, giving the German side a measure of revenge for its 2-0 loss to Inter in the 2010 final in Madrid. “I am very happy with our performance,” Bayern coach Louis van Gaal said. “Inter played very well. It could have been a different result, but we deserved to win after the way we played in the second half.” In a game of few chances at the Stade Velodrome, Marseille's Steve Mandanda was the busier of the two goalkeepers, keeping out shots by United midfielders Darren Fletcher and Nani. “It was very important not to concede in the first game and we did it,” Marseille coach Didier Deschamps said. Inter, which is third in Serie A but has been showing improved form under new coach Leonardo, will count itself unlucky to be going into the second leg behind. The second legs are played on March 15, with Bayern and United now favorites to go through to the quarterfinals. Arsenal beats Stoke Sebastien Squillaci's early goal gave Arsenal a 1-0 win over Stoke to move within one point of Premier League leader Manchester United Wednesday. Squillaci headed home from five yards (meters) in the eighth minute but the Gunners, who have played one match more than United, also lost Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott to injury at Emirates Stadium. Fabregas, the team's inspirational captain, trudged off with what appeared to be a knee injury in the 14th minute and Walcott was carried off on a stretcher in the 70th with an ankle problem. Arsenal, which is still in contention for four trophies, climbed seven points clear of third-place Manchester City.
