Nottingham Forest and Celtic advance to Europa League play-offs following Aston Villa victory

Nottingham Forest progressed to the Europa League play-off stage with a 4-0 triumph against Ferencvaros on Thursday, whereas Celtic clinched their knockout round position through a win over Utrecht.

Aston Villa ended up second in the league phase, having come back from two goals behind to defeat Red Bull Salzburg 3-2, even though their last-16 berth was already confirmed.

Forest had a slim opportunity to rise into the top eight before the concluding round of fixtures, requiring a victory over Robbie Keane's Ferencvaros alongside favourable outcomes elsewhere.

Sean Dyche's team fulfilled their part, with Igor Jesus netting a brace for Forest after an own goal by Ferencvaros defender Bence Otvos. James McAtee converted a late spot-kick, yet the result merely positioned the Premier League outfit in 13th place overall.

Forest, who have claimed the European Cup on two occasions in the past, will discover their play-off opponents on Friday, alongside Celtic, who beat bottom-ranked Utrecht 4-2 having netted three times within the opening 19 minutes in Glasgow.

Benjamin Nygren opened the scoring for Celtic, followed by an own goal from Utrecht skipper Nick Viergever. Arne Engels slotted home a penalty as Celtic dominated, though Utrecht narrowed the gap to one before Auston Trusty's header provided the Scottish side with additional comfort.

Villa appeared headed for only their second European loss when Salzburg took a 2-0 lead in Birmingham courtesy of strikes from Karim Konate and Moussa Yeo.

Morgan Rogers halved the arrears, Tyrone Mings nodded Villa even, and 19-year-old Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba scored his debut senior goal to seal the comeback for Unai Emery's squad.

Lyon led the standings with seven victories in eight outings, wrapping up the league phase via a 4-2 success against PAOK. A moment of silence preceded the start in tribute to the seven Greek supporters who perished in a minibus crash in Romania.

Midtjylland, Real Betis, Porto, Braga, Freiburg and Roma all placed in the top eight, guaranteeing straight entry to the last 16.

Rangers wrapped up a dismal European run with a 3-1 defeat at Porto, marking their sixth loss in eight competition matches.