A late brace of goals from substitute Marek Mintal gave Nurnberg a 2-1 victory over AZ Alkmaar and revived their hopes of joining Group A winners Everton in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup.
AZ had taken the lead at the EasyCredit Stadion with a strike from midfielder Demy De Zeeuw in the 29th minute.
But Mintal struck back with goals in the 83rd and 85th minute to give Hans Meyer's side their first win of the campaign.
Aberdeen were the beneficiaries as Atletico Madrid clinched their spot in the last 32 with an efficient 2-0 victory over FC Copenhagen in their Group B clash in the Danish capital.
Atletico, who had picked up four points from their opening two Group B games against Lokomotiv Moscow and Aberdeen, sealed the points thanks to goals from Simao Sabrosa and Sergio Aguero in either half.
A win for Aberdeen in the clash with Copenhagen at Pittodrie on December 20 will take the Scottish side through, after Panathinaikos defeated Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0.
Jon Dahl Tomasson netted both goals as Villarreal progressed with a 2-0 home triumph over Elfsborg in Group C.
Tomasson, who won the UEFA Cup with Feyenoord back in 2002, scored at the start of each half to guarantee the in-form Spanish outfit a spot in the next round with a game to spare.
Tomasson had the chance to score a hat-trick, but his late penalty was saved by Elfsborg goalkeeper Johan Wiland.
In the same group, AEK Athens boosted their chances of progressing as Tam Nsaliwa's second-half goal gave them a hard-fought 1-0 win at Mlada Boleslav.
After failing to make their first-half domination pay, AEK went ahead seconds after the restart when Nsaliwa finished well from Gustavo Manduca's cross.
Mlada piled forward in search of an equaliser and despite hitting the woodwork twice late on they failed to find a way back into the game.
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Panathinaikos ended Lokomotiv Moscow's interest in the UEFA Cup after securing a comfortable 2-0 victory over the Russian outfit in Athens.
The Greens, who had already qualified for the last 32 before their Group B encounter at the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium, took all three points thanks to a second-half double in the space of three minutes from striker Dimitrios Salpigidis.
The result - Panathinaikos' third successive win in the group stage - means Lokomotiv are eliminated from the competition while Jose Peseiro's Pana can win the pool if they avoid defeat against Atletico Madrid in their final match.
Two late goals saw Hamburg maintain their 100% record in this season's UEFA Cup and book their place in the next round following a 2-0 victory at Dinamo Zagreb in Group D.
The hosts battled hard all night but could not get the goal they deserved and Nigel De Jong headed his side in front on 88 minutes before Piotr Trochowski's penalty sealed the victory.
FC Basle progressed from the same group with a narrow 1-0 victory over SK Brann at St Jakob Park.
The Swiss Super League side are in second place on seven points but cannot be caught by Brann, Dinamo Zagreb or Rennes.
Midfielder Carlos Alberto Carlitos grabbed the decisive goal for Christian Gross' team with a goal from a free-kick in the first half.
But Mintal struck back with goals in the 83rd and 85th minute to give Hans Meyer's side their first win of the campaign.
Aberdeen were the beneficiaries as Atletico Madrid clinched their spot in the last 32 with an efficient 2-0 victory over FC Copenhagen in their Group B clash in the Danish capital.
Atletico, who had picked up four points from their opening two Group B games against Lokomotiv Moscow and Aberdeen, sealed the points thanks to goals from Simao Sabrosa and Sergio Aguero in either half.
A win for Aberdeen in the clash with Copenhagen at Pittodrie on December 20 will take the Scottish side through, after Panathinaikos defeated Lokomotiv Moscow 2-0.
Jon Dahl Tomasson netted both goals as Villarreal progressed with a 2-0 home triumph over Elfsborg in Group C.
Tomasson, who won the UEFA Cup with Feyenoord back in 2002, scored at the start of each half to guarantee the in-form Spanish outfit a spot in the next round with a game to spare.
Tomasson had the chance to score a hat-trick, but his late penalty was saved by Elfsborg goalkeeper Johan Wiland.
In the same group, AEK Athens boosted their chances of progressing as Tam Nsaliwa's second-half goal gave them a hard-fought 1-0 win at Mlada Boleslav.
After failing to make their first-half domination pay, AEK went ahead seconds after the restart when Nsaliwa finished well from Gustavo Manduca's cross.
Mlada piled forward in search of an equaliser and despite hitting the woodwork twice late on they failed to find a way back into the game.
mfl
Panathinaikos ended Lokomotiv Moscow's interest in the UEFA Cup after securing a comfortable 2-0 victory over the Russian outfit in Athens.
The Greens, who had already qualified for the last 32 before their Group B encounter at the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium, took all three points thanks to a second-half double in the space of three minutes from striker Dimitrios Salpigidis.
The result - Panathinaikos' third successive win in the group stage - means Lokomotiv are eliminated from the competition while Jose Peseiro's Pana can win the pool if they avoid defeat against Atletico Madrid in their final match.
Two late goals saw Hamburg maintain their 100% record in this season's UEFA Cup and book their place in the next round following a 2-0 victory at Dinamo Zagreb in Group D.
The hosts battled hard all night but could not get the goal they deserved and Nigel De Jong headed his side in front on 88 minutes before Piotr Trochowski's penalty sealed the victory.
FC Basle progressed from the same group with a narrow 1-0 victory over SK Brann at St Jakob Park.
The Swiss Super League side are in second place on seven points but cannot be caught by Brann, Dinamo Zagreb or Rennes.
Midfielder Carlos Alberto Carlitos grabbed the decisive goal for Christian Gross' team with a goal from a free-kick in the first half.
Copyright (c) Press Association
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