The Europa League's inaugural league phase ended on Thursday, with Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, who are both producing lackluster domestic campaigns, securing a round of 16 spot. Italy's Lazio finished top of the standings despite suffering their first loss, with Lyon ranking sixth.

Manchester United and Tottenham put their inconsistent domestic campaigns aside and advanced to the Europa League round of 16 on Thursday.

Diogo Dalot tapped in a precise cross by Kobbie Mainoo on the hour mark and Mainoo netted eight minutes later for a 2-0 victory over Romanian champion FCSB in Bucharest.

Tottenham got goals from academy graduates to beat Swedish club Elfsborg 3-0 in London. Spurs waited until the 70th minute for substitute Dane Scarlett to break the deadlock before adding two more through substitute Damola Ajayi and 17-year-old Mikey Moore.

Of the 36 teams in the revamped competition, the top eight go directly to the round of 16 in March. Teams ranked ninth to 24th go into the two-legged knockout playoffs on Feb. 13 and Feb. 20 with the winners making the last 16.

The draw is scheduled for Friday.

United, which is 12th in the Premier League, competed the league phase of the second-tier European competition in third place and undefeated with five wins and three draws, trailing the top by one point.

Amorim's squad has shown signs of improvement since he said the team was “the worst, maybe, in the history of Manchester United.”

(AP)

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