UEFA Europa League round of 32 scores: Arsenal, Manchester United, Milan in last 16; Leicester City crash out

The round of 32 of the UEFA Europa League came to a close Thursday, and the field was cut in half. Arsenal, Manchester United, AC Milan and Rangers were all among the teams that secured their round of 16 spots on Thursday, and some had easier times than others. Meanwhile, Napoii, Leicester City and Bayer Leverkusen were the three biggest clubs to crash out.

Arsenal had one of the more dramatic victories on the day, needing two goal in the final 25 minutes to advance against Benfica. Manchester United and AC Milan both drew, but the results were enough to see both teams advance. United were a 4-0 winner last week over Real Sociedad, while Milan advanced thanks to their away goals last week. Tottenham Hotspur already secured their place with a 4-0 home win over Wolfsberger AC at home on Wednesday to advance. The Europa League round of 16 draw is set for Friday at 7 a.m. ET and will be streaming on on CBS Sports HQ and CBS All Access.

Scores, a full list of round of 16 participants and takeaways from Thursday are below.

Europa League round of 32 results

Wednesday, February 24
Tottenham Hotspur (8) 4-0 Wolfsberg (1)

Thursday, February 25
Ajax (4) 2-1 Lille (2)
Shakhtar Donetsk (3) 1-0 Maccabi Tel-Aviv (0)
Napoi (2) 2-1 Granada (3)
Hoffenheim (3) 0-2 Molde (5)
Villarreal (4) 2-1 Red Bull Salzburg (1)
Rangers (9) 5-2 Antwerp (5) 
Arsenal (4) 3-2 Benfica (3)
PSV (4) 2-1 Olympiacos (5) 
Bayer Leverkusen (3) 0-1 Young Boys (6) 
Dinamo Zagreb (4) 1-0 Krasnodar (2) 
Leicester City (0) 0-2 Slavia Prague (2) 
Milan (3) 1-1 Crvena Zvezda (3) 
Manchester United (4) 0-0 Real Sociedad (0) 
Club Brugge (1) 0-1 Dinamo Kiev (2) 
Braga (1) 1-3 AS Roma (5) 

Round of 16 field

• Tottenham
  
• AS Roma
  
• Dinamo Kiev
  
• Manchester United
  
• Milan
  
• Slavia Prague
  
• Dinamo Zagreb
  
• Young Boys
  
• Olympiacos
  
• Arsenal
  
• Rangers
  
• Villarreal
  
• Molde
  
• Granada
  
• Shakhtar Donetsk
  
• Ajax
  

Saka saves Arsenal at the death

Not for the first time this season Bukayo Saka came up with Arsenal's trump card when they most needed him to as he teed up a late Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang header to earn the Gunners a 3-2 win over Benfica in Athens.

The home leg of this tie seemed to be slipping away from the Gunners after Rafa twice punished errors from Dani Ceballos, the second a disastrous flicked header that allowed the Portuguese winger to round Bernd Leno and give Benfica a 2-1 lead on the night and a crucial away goals advantage after a 1-1 draw in their 'home' game in Rome last week.

Kieran Tierney halved the deficit Arsenal needed to overcome with an excellent low strike in the 67th minute but the Gunners seemed to be running out of ideas in the closing stages. However Saka and Aubameyang reprised their first half act -- a brilliant through ball from the former that the Gunners captain clipped over Helton Leite -- to secure a stunning win for the Gunners that takes them through to the last 16.

Manchester United advance with ease

Manchester United were heavy favorites to advance ahead of their round of 32 second leg against Real Sociedad carrying a four-goal advantage from the previous leg. Despite the long shot, Real Sociedad came out with an intent to play instead of sit back, and pressed for an early chance on goal. The opportunity came in the 13th minute as Daniel James was charged with a heavy foul in the box on Andoni Gorosabel. 

In a moment that could have perhaps established a tempo change for the match, it was instead completely squandered as Mikel Oyarzabal stepped to the point and dragged his shot wide and over the bar.

Mancheseter United attempted to build on their heavy goal advantage and with some good looks on goal throughout the match, as Bruno Fernandes and James nearly opened the scoring in the first half with solid looks on frame. The game remained scoreless into the second half, as Alex Tuanzebe broke through, but his first ever goal was disallowed after a video review.